Two Hearts, One Wish
by bestangelbaby
Summary: When two people from different worlds make the same wish, they are brought together by forces and reasons unknown to them. Watch and see how the addition of this new person will affect Earthland and the lives of the people connected. No pairings as of yet, may change in the future. Will be rated M for language and scenarios in the future.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters or plot ideas from Fairy Tail. It is owned by Mashima Hiro.

* * *

Sitting on a high branch in a forest, a young man looks longingly up to the stars… silently he makes a wish to the heavens above. Smiling softly… he shuts his eyes and slowly goes to sleep… unaware of the shooting stars that leave a blazing trail across the sky.

At the same time, in another place far away… a woman looks up at the velvety night sky while sitting on a back porch swing. Unbeknownst to her, she makes the same wish as the man… before she too soon falls asleep. A warm breeze picks up and rocks the swing with a gentle sway… shooting stars appear overhead to cover the clear sky.

A third place that is separate, but connected to the worlds the man and woman live in, a large figure watches the night sky. From two different directions, shooting stars streak through the air simultaneously. Carrying with them are the voices of the man and the woman as they made their wish. After hearing both of their hearts' desire, the large figure starts to smile. Reaching out in the direction of the stars that carried the woman's wish, the figure plucks something unseen out of the air. Then turning to the direction the other set of stars came from, the figure lets go of whatever was plucked out of the air. Lowering the arm, the smile grows before the figure speaks.

"Now the rest is up to you two to make your wish come true…." The large figure walks away smiling to itself as the voices continue to echo throughout the air in a soft whisper….

"_I wish to find someone who can help make me stronger…_

…_who can help me protect the ones that I love and cherish."_

* * *

"Natsu! Where are you?" A feminine voice calls out.

"Over here, Lucy!" replies a young man with pink spiky hair and wearing a white scaled scarf that is wrapped around his neck. He is standing outside of an immense wooden wall while sniffing the air. Nearby a young blonde girl appears out of the village that is surrounded by the wall.

"What are you doing Natsu? We are about to leave." she says in an annoyed tone.

"Something isn't right. There is a weird smell in the air…. Like something doesn't belong." stated Natsu seriously.

"Eh!? Oh no! Don't tell me it's something to do with that demon Deliora again!" Lucy shouts out suddenly, attracting the attention of their other teammates and some of the villagers.

"What's going on? What's this about Deliora?" gruffly demands a young scarlet-haired woman.

Shaking his head in denial, Natsu replies between sniffs. "No, it isn't Deliora, but it doesn't smell natural either… If it's another demon, it isn't one that lives here. The smell is just too different… Too unnatural." The blonde girl holds her hands in front of her busty chest and shivers in fear.

A blue-furred cat with wings hovers over by Lucy and states simply, "It's probably just Lucy. She is smelly." He then puts a paw over his mouth to unsuccessfully stifle a laugh.

Enraged, the blonde yells while stomping, "I don't stink, you crappy cat!"

Ignoring this, a young man with messy black hair asks with a grim voice, "What if it has something to do with Deliora? Maybe we should check it out to be on the safe side for the villagers' sake?"

"Hmm." hums the red-headed woman as she crosses her arms in annoyance. One of the villagers who resembles a tall green lizard man approaches the group using a spear as a walking stick.

"If you would help us check this out before you leave, we would be eternally grateful. Well, its not like we aren't already, but this would be tremendously helpful." The older woman closes her eyes for a moment to seriously consider the request before snapping her eyes open.

"Ok, we will check this out. Natsu, can you pinpoint where the smell is coming from?" she says commandingly.

Pointing towards the forest, he replies, "It seems to be coming from that direction but it seems fairly dispersed, like it has some time to spread out. I should be able to find it when we get closer, but its hard to pinpoint from this distance."

The lizard-man villager takes a step forward and says, "Some of us can go scouting out in that direction to see if we can find anything while you follow the scent." The older woman replies with a nod while humming in approval.

"Let's move out and stay in contact, we don't want anyone to get separated before we know what we are facing." She says in a militant voice before running in the direction Natsu pointed to. The pink-haired man quickly takes the lead and starts tracking down the scent. Several of the villagers, who all look like different types of demons, spread their wings and follows after the group. After a handful of minutes, Natsu suddenly stops and takes a long sniff in the air.

"We're here. Whatever it is, it has to be around here." He rubs his nose hard. "I smell human as well, but whatever this smell is, it's really irritating my nose." He crinkles up his face in distaste as he keeps rubbing at his sensitive nose. He then turns to the older woman with a serious look. "What do you want us to do Erza?"

"Spread out. Stay in sight of each other. Be on guard, and let out a shout if you find anything suspicious." she says before walking forward with confidence. The rest of the group follows her instructions and starts to comb the woods.

"We'll start searching around from the air." calls out one of villagers, the canopy being too thick to tell who shouted. A few minutes of searching later, Lucy slips on some moss on top of a large rock and falls before letting out a large yelp as she lands.

"Luce, you ok?" calls out Natsu as he heads over to check on his friend.

"Nothing damaged but my pride." says Lucy with a shaky laugh. "At least I landed on something soft." She looks down and gives out a squawk in surprise. The soft thing she landed on turns out of be a rather plump woman with brown hair who appears to be unconscious and in a pair of thick, grey cloth pants, odd red socks, and what looks to be a light green nightgown. Natsu vaults over the rock and lands on the other side of the woman while quickly followed by the cat, Erza, and the man with black hair. Lucy quickly gets off the woman and joins her friends.

They inspect her closely as Natsu squats down and starts to sniff near her head. "That's her! She's the one who smells weird. She does smell human as well, but it's drowned out by this irritating stuff, like she got dumped in something… But its getting weaker. Very weird..." While explaining this, he doesn't notice the woman's eyes start to open.

* * *

I start to wake up, feeling sluggish and disoriented. The first thing I realize is that my stomach hurts, a lot. _Damn, what the hell did I eat to cause this? _The next thing I notice is that there is an unfamiliar voice right by my ear. I open my eyes to see a tuft of pink hair in front of me, soon followed by a face. I gasp in surprise and try to back away, only to find that I'm laying on my back next to something hard. The face, which I realize is male, quickly backs enough distance away for me to sit up. Behind him are two girls and one other guy. Breathing hard, I look around quickly to assess my situation.

_ What the hell is going on? Why am I in these woods, and who the hell are these people? _I voice out my thoughts and they look at me really confused. "Who are you? Where the hell am I?!" I ask again, now starting to panic and shout. One of the girls, a blonde, comes forward and makes 'calm down' motions with her hands while spouting out some gibberish. My breathing starts to calm down since these people aren't making any threatening moves towards me, yet. I push myself up onto my feet unsteadily, eyeing the four people in front of me.

I hear them speak to each other in that weird language. _I don't recognize that language. Some of the words seem familiar though. Wait, watashi? That's Japanese! But the rest of that doesn't sound Japanese. Hold on, Mr. Grumpy-face there just said cool in English. What is going on here? _I see that the pink-haired male is staying quiet and just stares at me. It gives me a bit of an uneasy feeling. But nothing in my 27 years of life would've ever prepared me for what I saw next. A blue cat with wings suddenly appears to my left, causing my eyes to pop out. I shriek out in surprise and disbelief. Twisting to face it, I stagger back to put distance between it and me. I see it put a paw over its mouth and it _laughed!? _

_ This cat is flying and laughing? Where the hell am I?! In OZ? Or maybe Wonderland? It sure the hell isn't my world… _Feeling cornered by the rocks around me and the unknown situation, I start breathing heavily in panic. The four people approach me slowly. I scramble backwards trying to climb over the rocks while not taking my eyes off them. They try to calm me down, or so it seems from their actions and the tone of their voices. My hands land on a stick and I grip it, in case I might need it. Starting to get over my flying cat shock, their smiles slowly start to put me at ease again. Without a bit of warning, a shape blurs down from the canopy quickly followed by a few more. I don't know how many… All I can tell is that the other people are unaware of them.

_ What are those?…._ I gasp in astonishment. _Monsters? Demons!? No fucking way! They are coming this way! Holy shit! And those people don't know that they are right behind them. I gotta do something! _Still holding the stick, I push the four in front of me out of the way and let out a war cry to attack the demons. I see that the lizard man thing in front has a spear in his hands. _Oh fuck, this won't end well._ The demons look extremely surprised at my sudden attack and I was able to hit the one in front across the knuckles which causes it to let go of the spear.

Unfortunately, my stick breaks after one hit. Now I'm left with just a stub. I motion for the other people to get away while I back up, hoping to find another weapon. To my utter surprise, I feel hands on my arms, restraining me. I turn to look to see the four people I tried to protect are now holding me still. _The hell! Are they with the demons?! FUCK!_

I struggle trying to get free while shouting in fear, "Let me go, you bastards! Let me go!" I see the demon that I hit walking up to me and I increase my struggles. I'm making the people on my arms stumble around, but damn they got a good grip on me. I can't seem to get free. Next thing I know, there is pain at the back of my neck and blackness overcomes me.

* * *

"What the hell was that all about!" shouts out Natsu in anger as he and the others gently lay the woman down on the ground. Lucy puts a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down.

"I don't know exactly what's going on, but she was scared. Even when she attacked the villagers, she looked scared." said the black-haired guy.

"How could you tell, Gray?" asked Lucy while Natsu just huffed in frustration. Erza answered for Gray.

"Her eyes, she had that look to them as she pushed us out of the way. But she was brave though. I guess she thought that the villagers were bad and tried to protect us by attacking." she looked down at the sleeping woman.

"She can't be that brave. She was scared of me as well!" cried out the blue flying cat in a happy manner.

"It could be she never saw a flying blue cat before." countered Gray.

Erza walks over to the villager who was attacked. "Are you ok?"

He nods before looking down at the strange woman. "Yea, I'll be fine. Heh, didn't expect to get attacked like that. She gave me a pretty good wallop with that stick. Stronger than she looks, that one." he ends with a slight chuckle.

"I wonder what she was saying, I don't know that language she was using." said Lucy thoughtfully.

"Che, whatever she said, it pissed me off." says Natsu in an annoyed manner.

"Yea, she was probably calling you an idiot." replies Gray mockingly.

"What was that frost-brain?!" yelled Natsu.

"You heard me charcoal-breath!" taunted Gray.

"Boys." said Erza in a stern manner. They both shut up quickly and Lucy just sighed at their antics. "Well, whoever she is or wherever she came from, I think it would be best if we take her back to the village. I couldn't detect any magical presence from her, so I believe her to be a non-mage." She looks over to the villagers who are now gathered around the group. "That is if you're ok with this action. I, of course, don't want to make you and the rest of the village uncomfortable."

The villagers all look towards each other, some nodding, others shaking their heads. "Maybe we should let her go with you guys. If she wakes up in our village, she might attack us with more than just a stick." the green lizard man says calmly. Erza nods at their decision and turns to face her friends.

"Ok you three, pick her up and carry her. Until we can figure out what to do with her, she will be coming with us." states Erza calmly.

"What!? Why do we have to carry her!" yells out Natsu in anger. Erza gives him a frightening glare which causes the younger trio to huddle together in fear.

"Do I have to remind you _why?_" she asks coldly.

In unison, they quickly reply, "No! We'll carry her!" Satisfied, the scarlet-haired woman nods and turns before walking back to the village. The villagers give the woman one last look before opening their wings to fly back to the village and report what happened.

Grumbling under their breath about how heavy the woman was, Lucy, Gray, and Natsu situate themselves around her to pick her up. Natsu grabs her by the legs with his back facing her. Lucy in the middle supporting her back while holding up her gown to keep it from dragging and ripping. Gray holding onto her under her armpits. As they move a few steps, something clatters to the ground. Curious, they stop to see that something fell out of the mystery woman's clothes. A small, thin, almost hand-sized object is laying on the ground with some odd looking strings attached to it. It's grey with some sort of bird symbol on it.

"Maybe she is a mage. That could be a guild symbol." says Lucy quietly.

"Get moving, we need to be getting back to the guild." Erza sharply calls out. The trio jumps in surprise, and Lucy quickly picks up the item and sticks it her pouch with her keys before they resume the trek back. Because of their burden, it took them close to an hour to get back to the village.

"Go and grab your stuff, its time to leave." Erza barks out as she goes to get her giant wagon of luggage. Setting the woman down just outside the village, the three just groan and rub their backs before heading to the huts that has their stuff. The chief walks up to Erza as the others are grabbing their things and goes to give her the reward.

"Wh-What?! You can't accept the reward…?" stutters out the chief in surprise when Erza refuses to take the money.

With a small happy smile Erza replies, "Yup. Your happiness is enough for us. We appreciate it."

Dumbfounded, the chief says, "Hoga… but…" before being cut off by Erza.

"As I told you last night, this request wasn't officially accepted by our guild. A couple of idiots just rushed into all of this." she tells him.

With a very pleased grin the chief says, "Hogah… but that still doesn't change the fact that we were saved. Will you accept this as a thank you gift to friends, instead of a reward to the guild.?"

Shaking her head with smile in place, she replies "It's hard to reject it if you put it that way."

Gray exclaims, "7 million jewels!"

"Whoa!" Natsu adds.

Ignoring the commentary behind her, she continues on, "But to accept that, would mean going against what our guild stands for. Although we will gratefully accept the additional award: the golden key."

The boys quickly shout, "We don't want that!"

Lucy shouts at the boys, "I want that!"

The chief's son steps up and asks, "Then at least let us take you to Harujion."

Erza says simply, "No need… We have our ship ready." The villagers all look to Erza in surprise. She just nods gently before turning to grab the handle of her luggage wagon. She gives her friends a questioning look to see if they were ready to leave. As Gray, Lucy, and Natsu all give a thumbs up, a groan could be heard behind them.

* * *

My head is in pain. I groan and I roll onto my side to rub my temples. _What a crazy ass nightmare. Demons, and flying blue cats. Never had that before. _As I start to sit up, I notice something. I'm on the ground. _The hell?_ I open my eyes and can't make out anything. _Damn watery eyes. Why do they always water up like this when I wake up? _Rubbing my eyes vigorously, my vision returns. I blink them a few more times to get rid of any leftover blurriness. Looking up and around I soon notice a huge wood wall with some tents inside. _It's a village… what is going on here?_

I see the group gathered in the center and I squint my eyes to make them out. _It's those people I saw in my dream! _Terrifying creatures are surrounding the people, and they are… talking? _Oh gods. It wasn't a dream…_ Panic sets in and a small cry of fear escapes unbidden from my mouth. I clamber to my feet as fast as I can to try to get away. A small wave of dizziness hits and I stumble some before I get my balance. Turning away, I hear a shout from behind me as I start entering the woods. I look back at that shout without stopping and I see the pink-haired male running after me. _Shit, he's fast! I gotta try to dodge. _I turn back to see where I'm putting my feet so I won't trip.

Way too soon for my liking, I hear his footfalls behind me. I dodge to my left while turning, so I can try going in a different direction after he misses. Or at least that was the plan. The plan did not include him catching me in a bear hug of a tackle which caused us both to fall and roll down an unseen hill. My dizziness increases until it gets to the point where all I could do was close my eyes and hold on to him. I pray that the rolling will stop soon. My head hits something just before we stop rolling and I am knocked silly. My grip lessens and my arms flop down to the ground.

Breathing heavily from the rush, the world and the sky just spin in a sickening way. I close my eyes in an attempt to shut out the world to wait for it to right itself. I don't know how long I was like that before I feel like I'm recovering. My breathing slows and weirdly enough I'm feeling calmer now. _Why was I riled up earlier? Ow, my head hurts. _I open my eyes, only to have to shut them again. _Why am I feeling dizzy? What happened? And why do I feel so warm?_

I shift my body a bit to get more comfortable while I try to figure out what's going on. A small groan near my ear causes me to stiffen. Movement is felt that I did not cause and it dawns on me that there is something laying on top of me. Soon as I realize this, my eyes shoot wide open causing me to hiss in pain while narrowing them. _Big mistake. Ow. The headache does not like sunlight. _I squint up into the sky and let my eyes get adjusted to the light. With the headache subsiding, it gets easier to reason out my situation.

First thing I figure out is that I am laying on my back on the ground, and some guy is laying on top of me. _Or at least I'm assuming it is a guy from how deep that groan was. _Second, whoever this is, has pink hair. _Why does pink ring a bell? Ugh, its hard to think straight. _My body feels like a limp piece of spaghetti, I can barely move my limbs much less anything else to get him off of me. His body is heavy, but not where I couldn't a sudden gust of warm air on my neck, it clicks that this guy's head is on my shoulder.

_ So that's where the pink hair is coming from. Pink hair. There's something important I need to remember about pink hair. But what? _Turning my head to look at it better, I get a whiff of something. I breathe in the smell some more and it calms and relaxes me more. It's very light, so I have trouble trying to place it. Almost on cue, he starts moving again and a weight lifts off of me. I immediately miss the feeling of warmth as he lifts himself up. _So he was the cause of it._

My thoughts are still jumbled, but piece by piece things are clicking together. His face appears in my field of view, hovering over me. I look at him intently trying to remember. _Huh, odd looking scarf. _A piece clicks. _What's that odd mark on his arm? Looks kinda like a bird. Is that a tattoo? _Another piece clicks. _He was the one who tackled me. I was running and he chased me down and tackled me! _His head moves closer until we were arm's length apart. _Why was I running? _I still feel weak limbed and make no effort to get up or move. As my eyes wandered around trying to find more clues, I stop when I get to his face. Or more accurately, his eyes.

I do nothing but stare into those onyx eyes. Mesmerized, I don't notice anything else until a nearby shout jerks me out of that stupor. He moves out of sight and I feel more than hear a thump of him sitting down by my left side. I turn my head gingerly, mindful of my headache, in the direction the shout came from. Three seemingly familiar people were running down a hill in our direction. _I seen them before. I know I did. Where though? _A few seconds tick by, then the last piece clicks into place. Fear shoots through me and fuels my limbs into action.

_ Crap, it's the demon allies. Gotta go, gotta go! Move arms! Move! _It takes a lot of willpower to push myself into a sitting position. I barely notice the blue flying cat as it flies into the arms of the guy. They start babbling happily to each other while I'm focusing on escape. I scoot away on my butt a few times before feeling up to turning over for a crawl. I pick up some distance from Pinky and the cat as I make a desperate attempt for escape. Gathering my legs under me, I make a push to stand upright. That was the plan until something strong attaches to my ankle and yanks, causing me to fall.

I twist quickly out of reflex to land on my side and use my arms to protect my head. _Thank you Theater Arts! _I push my upper body up enough to look behind me ignoring the new wave of dizziness and pain that assaults my mind. Pinky has a grip on my ankle while giving me a very intense look, and I consider kicking his hand to break free. That is until I see Mr. Grumpy-face and Blondie almost upon us, with Red leading the pack._ What is that in her hand… a sword? A sword! And she is heading over here and looks angry! Shit shit shit shit! _I try yanking my leg free, but Pinky's grip only tightens. I start crying as I realize that I'm not getting away.

As she gets close to within striking distance, I curl up as much as I can into a ball and use my arms to protect my head. Her footsteps stop in front of me and a sob escapes. _Mom, Dad, I love you. I'm sorry. _I feel something touch my head, and I curl into a smaller ball. Whatever is on my head moves back and forth with nothing else happening. Just the movement on my head. _Wait, is she stroking my head? What the hell is going on?_

I relax after a couple of moments when there is no change in the situation and I dare to peek out from under my arms.

Red is crouched in front of me with a soft and gentle smile on her face. To say I'm surprised is putting it mildly. _What is going on? I thought she was about to literally unleash hell on me. _I relax slightly and uncurl my body as it seems that she isn't going to do anything harmful to me. She stops stroking my head and leans back on her heels. The blue cat says something while flying over our heads which causes Pinky to reply in a shout. Startled, I look quickly over at him to see an angry pout accompanied by a blush on his face.

I would be a liar if I said that blush wasn't cute on him. I feel my cheeks warm a little in response. I see that he released his grip on my ankle and I tuck my leg in closer to me. I look away from him only to see the other two watching me with amused expressions. A low, gentle voice brings my attention back to the woman in front of me. I look at Red as she looks at me, also with an amused expression. _What the god given heck is going on here? It doesn't seem to be like they are going to hurt me. But then what was that bit about the demons?_

She says something to me in the gibberish that I can't make out. I tilt my head to the side confused and shake my head that I don't understand. She thinks for a bit and taps an armored hand to her chest and says a word. When she then points at me, I get what she wants. My name.

Sitting up in a cross legged position, I tap myself on the chest and say, "Krystina." She repeats my name in a garbled up way, so I repeat it slower and with more enunciation. "Krys-ti-na."

"Klis-ti-na." She says. _Close enough. I had worse butcherings of my name. _I nod in approval before pointing at her to repeat her name. Listening, hard as she says it, I sense an odd inflection. _Almost sounds like a mixture of 'R' and 'L'. Probably going to mess it up. Oh well, no one is perfect. _

"Erza." I say and she gives a nod of approval. _Well at least I didn't mess that up too much. Maybe. Now I don't have to keep calling her Red. _I look at the other two as they come over to crouch near us. Blondie by Erza's right, and Mr. Grumpy-face by her left. Blondie goes next on the name game.

"Lucy." I blink in surprise and blurt her name out. _What the hell, a name in English? What are the odds of that? _She close her eyes and nods happily. A low voice male voice sounds off near me.

"Gray." I look over towards the black-haired in surprise and get a bigger one for my troubles. _What the heck!? Why is his shirt off? Sure he looks good, but what kind of playboy stunt is this? _

"Eh!?" I say in response of seeing him topless. _Huh. Looks like he has the same tattoo as Pinky. _A quick glance to my side confirms this. I also see the same mark on Lucy's hand. _Ok, are they part of some sort of gang?_ I lean away from Gray, and Erza says something to him which causes him to freak out. I hear boisterous laughter coming from the side, so I look over and up to see Pinky standing up nearby laughing his ass off. He says something to Gray which causes Gray to yell back. Pinky is about to shout again when he glances over to me and sees my gaze.

He points to his face and says happily, "Natsu."

Looking into his eyes, I smile and whisper back, "Natsu."

* * *

**Author Notes:**

Just to point out, in the story I'm taking a lot of the cannon stuff from the manga and anime. Like the town Hargeon in the anime is spelled Harujion in the manga. I'm using a mix of the anime and manga for the conversations between the characters. This is why the chief is saying Hoga, because he is in the manga.

Also had it pointed out that not everyone will understand what Theater Arts is. It's a class offered in some schools that teaches you how to act. Like in a play/movie. You also learn acting techniques like how to fall down on the ground without injuring yourself.

More shall be revealed about our mystery woman named Krystina in the future chapters.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters or plot ideas from Fairy Tail. It is owned by Mashima Hiro.

Previously:

_ I hear boisterous laughter coming from the side, so I look over and up to see Pinky standing up nearby laughing his ass off. He says something to Gray which causes Gray to yell back. Pinky is about to shout again when he glances over to me and sees my gaze._

_ He points to his face and says happily, "Natsu."_

_ Looking into his eyes, I smile and whisper back, "Natsu."_

_#&#&#&#&#&_

"My, my. What do we have here? I think Natsu just got himself an admirer." says a slyly smiling Lucy in a fake whisper while she watches Krystina and Natsu exchange names.

"They llllllllike each other!" cheerfully cries out the flying blue cat before snickering loudly.

"I do not, Happy!" shouts out Natsu angrily while he waves both of his arms wildly in the air. Gray returns with all his clothes on and has a smirk on his face.

He gives Natsu a look of confidence before raising his arms in the air in a shrug as he replies, "An admirer? Highly unlikely. Even she is too smart to like you, flame-brain." At this, the angry pink-haired guy jumps forward and raises up both fists.

"You wanna go, Popsicle?" growls out Natsu.

"Anytime, anywhere you overheated gecko." retorts Gray.

At this, both of them butt foreheads together in an attempt to out stare the other to get them to back down. Which doesn't work, as usual. Within seconds they begin fighting with fists and magic, embroiled in their long-time rivalry. Ezra stands up and is about to forcibly separate the two, when a rather loud gasp catches the attention of the females. There on the ground, Krystina is still sitting and is now staring wide eyed and open-jawed at the two guys. Her mouth starts to move like she wants to say something, but no sounds are forthcoming. With a shaky hand, she points at the boys and stammers out some word that is too soft to hear due to the noise of the fight.

Erza turns with a frown on her face and yells, "Both of you stop fighting and shut up!"

Snapping to attention, the males shout in unison, "Yes ma'am!" while getting on their knees and bowing their heads low to the ground. Satisfied. Erza turns back to the woman on the ground and tries to calm her down again.

Giving a light laugh, Lucy says, "She is an excitable one, isn't she?"

"Yes she is. Seems like everything is shocking to her." Erza replies before shifting her attention back to Krystina and crouching in front of the woman on the ground again. "Its ok, they stopped fighting now. No need to be scared. You're fine Krystina. They aren't going to hurt you." At the sound of her name, the brunette takes her eyes off of the boys and focuses on the two girls. She then starts making movements with her hands trying to say something to them. Neither girl is able to figure out what she is trying to say in her language and movements.

The females shake their heads and shrug their shoulders signaling that they don't understand, which causes the unknown woman to slump down in a huff. Silence befalls the group for a few moments and Erza breaks it by standing up quickly and coughing.

With everyone's attention on her, Erza states, "Alright, we've been wasting enough time here. Let's get back to the Guild." She walks over to her wagon and everyone else picks up whatever they dropped on the ground. A moment later, the group is ready and they start walking off in the direction of the beach. All except the woman on the ground. She just watches them walk off with large eyes.

"Hey guys, what about her?" asks Happy the cat as he flies around their heads. At this, the group turn as one to look back towards the woman who was watching them leave. At their stares, she ducks her head and looks away.

Watching them walk away, I feel a pang of sadness in my heart. _Why do I feel sad? I barely know them, much less can even talk to them. _At the sound of the blue cat talking, I think his name was Happy, I see the group turn and look at me. I quickly look away in shame. _I guess it's rude to watch people leave. What am I going to do when they're gone? This is a new place, most likely a new world and I don't know anything about it. Well, correction, I know one thing. Magic. This world has magic. _A strange feeling starts to grow inside me at that thought.

Before I can dwell on it further, I'm broken out of my thoughts by a hand appearing in front of my face. I jerk upright to look into the smiling face of Lucy as she is crouched in front of me with the others behind her. I look at her hand, then at each of their faces in confusion. Lucy beckons me to get up, while Gray and Ezra nod in approval. I look at Natsu and he motions with his hand to get up as well. Suddenly feeling really happy, I smile at them before grabbing Lucy's hand and she helps me up. They give a cheer as I stand, which makes me even happier.

Smiling at them I notice that the guys are taller then me, Gray by half a head, and Natsu a little less. Erza and Lucy are about my height, Erza a little more, Lucy a little less. Lining up on either side of me, Lucy and Natsu each wrap an arm over my shoulders and give me a slight push. Linked together like this, we start walking down a path I haven't noticed before. _Even though I have no idea where I am or why I am here, and there are demons, and magic, and flying, talking cats, this may not be such a bad place after all. _

The group of 6 make quick time and soon arrive at a beautiful beach. The two older women just watch the boisterous antics of the younger members of the group with smiling faces. Happy insults Lucy causing her to chase him around for an attempt at revenge. He flies around just out of reach, to the irritation of the blonde girl. The boys kept getting into heated arguments which led to more fistfights. Erza would quickly step in and bark out an order which would cause the boys to sling their arms over the other's shoulder to act like they were the best of friends. This would cause Lucy and Krystina to giggle. They traveled down the beach for a half hour like this before a large ship appears in the distance.

Looking extremely startled, Gray shouts out, "A pirate ship!"

"Don't tell me you hijacked it! Whoa…" says Happy in awe as the stares at the ship.

Shaking in fear, Lucy screams out, "NO! I don't want to ride that!" She then shivers in fright.

Giving Lucy an easygoing smile, Natsu replies, "If you're going to swim, I'll accompany you."

"Not going to happen!" snaps Lucy, immediately shooting down the idea.

Erza pays the younger members no mind, while Krystina just gawks at the ship. The high-strung antics of the younger group members settle into easy-going silence. Lucy would give the ship a nervous look and shiver now and again. As they continue to move along the beach, a large group of people appear out of the jungle close to the ship.

"Hey! It looks like the villagers are here to send us off!" squeals a now excited Lucy. She waves to them and shouts are heard coming from the larger group. The large brunette starts to slow down as she stares intently at the group. Erza notices this action, but doesn't say anything. She just keeps a closer eye on their new traveling companion. When the group gets close enough to start making out the villagers clearly, Krystina stops with a large gasp. Turning almost as one, the friends see her eyes widen in fear.

"Not this again." mutters Gray, starting to get annoyed. The large woman takes a step backwards, still staring at the villagers. She quickly spins towards the woods to make a break for it. Before Erza can say anything, Natsu, who was closest to the frightened woman, quickly grabs her by the wrist. Digging in his heels, he effectively stops her escape. Lucy and Happy both share a worried look at how afraid the brunette is. Erza just nods in approval at Natsu's quick actions.

"Hey Lucy, she looks really scared of the villagers." comments Happy quietly.

"Yea, she does." replies Lucy just as quietly while she goes to hold the blue cat in her arms.

"Tch." Gray says irritably as he looks away from the scene. Krystina tugs against Natsu's grip trying to get him to follow her if he won't let go. She says something in a begging tone as she looks over to the rest of the group.

"They aren't going to hurt you. It's ok." calmly says Natsu. She shakes her head before pointing back at the villagers and tugging harder. When she lets up enough to change her stance, Natsu quickly pulls her to him and immediately gets her in a one-armed embrace. Everybody looks at him, stunned at his sudden move. Recovering quickly, she starts struggling against his hold. He just tightens his grip, causing her face to be smothered in his scarf.

Gray, Erza, and Lucy all share looks of silent agreement to stay back and see how this plays out. Krystina struggles and pushes against Natsu for a few moments before she gives up. A few more seconds later and Natsu's grip visibly loosens. Without warning, the large woman seems to collapse, startling everyone. She seems to of fainted until in a practiced motion, she twists her body and arm to break the wrist grip Natsu still had on her. Not stopping her fall, she uses the momentum to keep turning until she is facing away from the others and takes off towards the woods again.

"Stop!" Erza orders. Unheeding the command, the mystery woman keeps running.

"Catch her flame-brain!" shouts Gray.

His voice seems to jumpstart the slightly dazed pink-haired man. Dropping his pack, Natsu dashes over and quickly catches up to the woman before she makes it to the woods. This time he catches her in a full on embrace, trapping her arms to her sides. She shouts something in frustration and tries to shake off Natsu's hold. She puts up a good fight, even flipping Natsu completely over her shoulder to try to make him let go of her. Unfortunately for her, his hold doesn't break and she gets pulled down as well. Krystina is slightly stunned by the impact before shaking her head to clear it and renewing her struggles.

She tries a new tactic by repeatedly kicking him wherever she can while still trying to squirm out of his hold. Natsu quickly has had enough of her kicks after a few blows to his legs. With a loud roar, he quickly pins down both of her legs with his, effectively ending her struggles. She wiggles against the hold for a bit before slumping again in defeat. Not wanting to be tricked again, he keeps a tight hold on her. The others stand where they are, watching in silence. Happy floats around with a concerned look. Unseen by the others, the woman is shaking in Natsu's hold.

He leans his head close to her ear and makes shushing noises, like how one would try to calm a frightened animal. As her shaking continues, he uses his hands to gently rub up and down her arms without relaxing his hold. Her shaking stops after a few minutes, and he continues his ministrations to calm her down more. When she releases a sigh and relaxes in his arms, he tentatively relaxes his hold. He stops rubbing her arms and releases her legs. The rest of the group takes this a signal that they can get closer and they silently approach the two on the ground. Natsu helps Krystina off of the ground, but doesn't completely let go of her.

She dusts herself off a bit and reluctantly turns to face the others. The trails left by tears on her cheeks can be clearly seen through the dirt and sand on her face. Gray jumps back like he is burned while Lucy rushes to help comfort the crying woman. Natsu still keeps his hands on her upper arms to prevent any more escape attempts, but he does back up a bit to give her some more personal space. Gray stands back with Happy to observe the others while Erza also approaches the huddled trio. She hands the large woman a handkerchief to use for her nose. The brunette ducks her head in thanks before using it. Erza stands there watching them before nodding to herself like as if she came to a decision.

"Natsu!" she calls out sternly while clamping a hand on his shoulder. Catching everyone's attention she continues speaking without pausing. Fear shows on Natsu's face, causing Krystina to cringe away from Erza as well. "Since it seems you're the best one to catch and calm her when she runs, I'm putting you in charge of her. She will be your responsibility until we decide matters later."

Stiff as a board, he replies without hesitation, "Aye, sir!" Too scared of Erza's wrath to argue.

"I also want to add that if you do anything untoward or let anything happen to her, you will regret it. Understand? Good. Now let's get her moving again, I would at least like to get back to Harujion before night." She ends matter-of-factly.

When I finish up using the handkerchief, I give the others an uneasy smile. Natsu lets go of my arms and grabs one of my wrists while Lucy grabs the other. They gently try to pull me towards the demons again. I dig in my heels and refuse to budge. They give me encouraging smiles and tug again. Still unsure, I try not to get pulled forward. Happy, Gray, and Erza join us and I get bombarded with smiles and nods of reassurance. _They all seem so comfortable and confident. Maybe they know what they are doing. They seem so nice, maybe I could try trusting them. _Another tug, and I let myself move forward a step.

The smiles increase and I move forward another step. Before I know it, I'm walking down the beach again, heading towards the mass of demons. Natsu on my left, Lucy on my right, both of them holding onto my wrists. Lucy switches from wrist to my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze in encouragement. Natsu gives me these happy boyish smiles to help me stay calm. Happy stays silent, but flies around everyone in circles with a smile on his face. As we close the distance between the demons and us, I become nervous again. I start to tremble more with each step.

My steps slow, but I don't stop. Soon I am close enough to be able to tell each demon apart. Happy decides to bother Lucy with something which causes her to let go of my hand as she deals with the cat. Still scared, I move to walk behind Natsu to use his height as a shield to help hide the demons from my view. _Why does it have to be demons? They scare me so badly._ At the awkward angle, he lets go of my wrist and out of impulse I grab the back of his black vest and his scarf. It gives me a bit more courage as we approach. Nearing 10 yards away, the group stop near the demons. By now, I'm almost whimpering in fear as I huddle up closer to Natsu's back, trying to hide myself from the demon's view.

I hear strange voices call out towards us and I see Lucy, Gray, and Erza move forward to greet and interact with the demons. Natsu stays back with me huddling close behind him and peeking over his shoulder and scarf. After a few moments of watching everyone interact, I realize something. _These demons don't act evil. They seem nice and friendly. Just like regular people._ I let out a small gasp and hearing it, Natsu turns to look down over his shoulder at me and grins. He motions his head towards the group and his grin widens in encouragement.

Erza, Gray, and Lucy were saying their goodbyes to their newly made friends. All were laughing, smiling, and hugging. Most of the way through the goodbyes, a sudden hush befalls the villagers. Turning around they see their latest friend Krystina, who is no longer hiding behind Natsu. Looking nervous, she takes a few steps forward before stopping about halfway between Natsu and the villagers. Taking a deep breath she bows down very low and shouts out some words they don't understand. After the initial shout, her voice calms as she speaks.

They may not know what she is saying, but what they do understand is her meaning behind them. Her apology. Her shame and embarrassment of her fear toward them. Her sorrow at judging them by their looks. As soon as her speech finishes and she stands up again, the tears were seen in her eyes. Almost at once the villagers rush towards her to envelop her in a giant group hug to show that they forgave her. She let out a squeak of surprise seeing the whole village heading towards her, but she quickly overcomes her surprise and starts to smile nervously.

Erza, Lucy, Natsu, Gray, and Happy all look at each other and share nods and smiles of approval. The villagers shout and cheer for her and for the mages. Lucy walks over to stand by Natsu amid the chaos and shares a pleased smile with him.

"Whatever you did or said sure did the trick eh, Natsu?" she says to him. He shrugs it off.

"Didn't really do anything, just kept her calm so she can see that they weren't bad." he replies nonchalantly.

"Still, you did a good job." she chirps back happily.

# # # # #

On the deck of the pirate boat, I stand with Lucy waving goodbye to the villagers until they are too small to make out. We look at each other and giggle. I hear some sounds from behind me and I turn to see Erza and Gray talking. Lucy soon join them and I notice that Natsu and Happy are missing. I hear an all too familiar noise coming from the right side of the ship. Turning to look, I see that Natsu is hanging over the side, tossing his cookies. Happy, who is flying above Natsu, says something before flying to the others which leaves him alone. _Oh poor thing, he gets seasick. Maybe the others haven't noticed yet, I'll see if they can help. _

The three other people stop talking as I approach. I give them a look of worry as I point over to Natsu to signal my concern. Looking to where I am pointing, they laugh and wave it off. Like it wasn't a big deal. "Look at him, can't you help at all?" I plead. They say something and turn back to each other and keep talking. I frown at this. _Well that's just cold-hearted. Fine, if you won't go, I'll see if I can help then. _Huffing in disappointment, I turn away from the group as make my way towards Natsu.I walk up beside him and touch his shoulder lightly to let him know I'm there.

After he finishes his current round of hurling, he looks slowly over to me with the most pitiful look. My heart aches for him. I just hate seeing people in misery. _Oh poor Natsu. I know how it sucks when you get sick and have to hurl, a lot. I'll do what I can to help. _I give him a sympathetic smile and start to tug off his backpack and sleeping roll. He stands up straight just long enough to let me get it off of him before he has to hang off the edge again. I make shushing noises and rub his back in circles, giving what comfort I can.

It seems to help a little bit. From the look and sound of it, his stomach is close to being empty and the dry heaves will start soon. I cringe at the thought, remembering all the times I've been sick at my old job. _I know exactly how he feels. Nausea is not something to be taken lightly, especially when you get it often. I don't know how it is for him, but for me the dry heaves are the worst. _I start to alternate between massaging and rubbing his back. Each episode he has seems shorter than the last, and it takes longer before he has another one. Somewhere during this, Happy made his way over to watch us.

I look over at him to see him staring at me intently. I get slightly flustered at this. _Ok, why is he giving me that strange look? Is it wrong to help this poor guy when he is so distressed? _Seemingly coming to some sort of decision, he nods and helps me rub Natsu's back. I give him a grin in thanks and turn my attention back to the poor pink-haired guy. I think for a bit, trying to come up with something else that I can do right now. _Maybe a soothing song perhaps?_ I start to lightly hum a song that reminds me of home and always calms me down when I hear it.

By the time I repeat the song for a third time, his convulsions seems to have ceased. He still lets out some low groans, but seems to be finished hurling. He feebly lifts himself off of the side and almost flops to the floor. I barely catch him by the waist in the nick of time and I help him stand on his shaky legs. I put his arm over my shoulders and hold onto it to support him before wrapping my other arm around his waist so I can carry him. He gives me such a grateful smile that it melts my heart and causes me to blush. I look away to gather my thoughts and refocus on easing his discomfort.

_ Since it is the ship's movements that are causing this, he should feel better in the middle of the ship. The rolling should be lessened there. _I start leading him towards the middle of the ship, letting him set the pace. We pass by the others and I look over at them. They are giving me these really surprised looks. Its like they never expected someone to help him. I glare and snort in disapproval at them before looking away. _Some friends they are. They don't even lift a finger to help him when he is in obvious distress._ We maneuver around some barrels and rope and other things a ship seems to need to have on the deck. I lean him up against a wall in the middle of the ship, near the door that leads into the interior.

Making sure we were far enough from it that if the door opened we wouldn't get hit, I let him slide down until he was sitting. I join him right after he settles down. He is still breathing heavy, but doesn't look like he is going to throw up anymore. His eyes are tightly shut in concentration. I remember back to my American Red Cross and basic first aid courses that I took a couple of years ago. _Ok, now that he seems to of calmed down, he needs something to drink so he won't be getting dehydrated. I don't know how long we will be here on this ship. So the sooner we take care of this, the better off he will be in the long run._

Using the wall as support, I stand up planning on finding someone to help me get some water. As if on cue, one of the crew members happened by and I wave my arms to get his attention. Using my pantomime skills, I do my best to convey to the pirate that I would like to get a drink for Natsu. The pirate nods with a grin and motions for me to wait there. _I hope that its water or juice and not something alcoholic._ Natsu lets out a groan and I turn to look down at him. I see that his face is starting to have that green look to it again. I move to sit beside him, this time facing the wall.

Leaning him forward so his head can rest on my shoulder, I start humming and rubbing his back again. Like what I would do for a sick child. I resist the urge to rock him as well since that will most likely make his seasickness worse. A moment later, I feel a quick tap on my free shoulder. Twisting my head back to look, I see that it is the pirate, back with a cup of something with Happy floating behind him. I thank the pirate the best I can and after he leaves I sniff at the cup. _Hmm, no smell. Good sign that it isn't alcohol. Still, better do a taste check first. _

Quick sip. _Tastes like water to me, slightly woody and stale, but better than nothing. _Setting the cup beside me, I gently nudge Natsu off of my shoulder and lean him against the wall again. Gently, I tap his face to get his attention since his eyes are still closed. I bring the cup over to his face and motion for him to drink when he finally opens them. Natsu groans and shakes his head, but I continue to motion that he should drink. Happy says something to Natsu that seems to convince him. He takes the cup from me in shaky hands. I steady the cup for him and he drinks the water in one go.

He lets out a relieved sigh and mumbles something to me. I laugh and say, "You're welcome." He closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep. I watch his face for any signs of possible signs of distress. I hear Happy say something and looking back towards him, I see he has a smirk on his face. I grin back which seems to catch the cat off-guard. _Hmm? I wonder what it was he said._ I reach over and pat his head a few times.

"You're a close friend to Natsu, aren't you Happy?" I ask him, knowing that he wouldn't understand.

He looks at me confused and I just warmly smile down at him. Turning back to Natsu, I check his breathing and pulse before coming to the conclusion that he will be fine for now. _Since he is sleeping, I should make him more comfortable. He could get a crick in his neck sleeping like that. _I slowly unwrap Natsu's scarf so I won't wake the poor guy and lay it to the side so he can have an easier time breathing. I look in surprise to see an old scar on the right side of his neck. _Now how did he get that? I hope it wasn't serious. I can ask him about it later._

"Happy." I say softly to the blue cat. He looks up at me with those wide eyes. I motion for him to stay and he nods before sitting next to Natsu. Getting up, I head back to the side of the ship to retrieve Natsu's pack from where we left it. Doing so means I pass by the others in our group.

I hear them talking to each other and I ignore them still feeling miffed about their lack of regard for their friend. Picking up the backpack, I grunt a bit in surprise on how heavy it is. _Feels like my high school backpack when I have it crammed full of all my textbooks. Or about a bag of chicken feed back home. _With a bit of a grunt, I swing the bag over one shoulder and make my way back to my sleeping patient. Letting the bag drop down with a thump, I pull out the blanket on top of the pack. After a moment I have it folded up and lay it on the floor next to the wall. Then crouching down, I guide Natsu's sleeping body to the wooden deck to lay on his back, and have the blanket act as his bed.

Standing up again, I look down at him and smile at his sleeping face. _He does seem a lot more peaceful now. I hope that I was able to help. _Happy who has been watching me, decides to fly back to the other group. I spare them only a passing glance, still in my 'Doctor mode'. I'm more concerned of the welfare of the guy who I decided to take charge of. Not knowing how bad he stays seasick or how long we will be at sea, I plan on doing my best to make sure he will be ok. _After all, he helped me probably more than he realizes with my fear of those nice demons._

I sigh a bit at the memory of my last escape attempt. _What is it about him that is so damn calming? I guess I just have to take care of him now so maybe I can find out more about him later. If I remember my lessons correctly, without proper treatment seasickness can become deadly if the person isn't taken care of after a few days. I hope this trip doesn't last long for his sake._ _Man, it's too bad that I don't have my bag that I carry medicine in. Then again, it's not like I was planning on coming to this world. _

With things now peaceful, or at least as peaceful as it could be on a pirate ship, I sit back to relax and sort through everything I learned since I got to this world.

# # # #

"Guys! Guys! Natsu doesn't seem sick anymore!" exclaimed a joyful Happy as he flew over to his friends.

"EH!?" replies the group all at once, surprised by this news.

"Happy, is this true?" asks Erza.

He does a back flip in the air before saying, "Aye, sir!"

"Well this is an interesting turn of events." says Gray, quickly recovering from shock. He then asks, "What is he doing now?"

"Sleeping from the look of it. I've never seen him look like that while on transportation." Happy replies in a cheerful manner.

"And Krystina?" questions Erza.

"She is staring at Natsu a lot. I think she is broke." the cat answers.

A sly smirk appears on Lucy's face and an evil aura surrounds her. "Maybe we can convince her to join us on future missions so we don't have to deal with Natsu's motion sickness anymore."

Erza glares hard at Lucy and asks angrily, "_What _future missions?"

"Oh, that's right, the punishment for breaking the rules." whimpers out a frightened Lucy. Scared out of their wits, Lucy, Gray, and Happy huddle up in fear hoping Erza won't hurt them as the red-head continues to ooze out an evil aura.

# # # #

I stay near Natsu for the whole trip, which lasted less than the whole day in my surprise and relief. Staying in 'Doctor mode' the whole time, I had him wake up every now and again to drink more water that I was able to procure from the pirates before letting him go back to sleep. When he starts groaning I would either hum or turn him onto his side to rub his back. Happy comes by to check on Natsu now and again. The rest of the time, I spent it alone while thinking about my situation. I came to the conclusion that until I can at least learn the language, I should try to go with the flow and not be surprised by everything.

_Never in my life would I of thought that I would somehow get 'magically' whisked away to some far off place. Magic, huh? I wonder if that really was magic I saw those two use in that scuffle. There are nice demons, cats that can fly and speak, I guess it wouldn't be too far off the mark to think that there is magic as well. _I look up into the sky and watch the clouds with a heavy sigh. _Can anyone learn magic in this place, or only a select few? What kinds of magic is there? _I look back down at the sleeping male. _His complexion still seems to be normal, that's a good sign. _

"I wish I could talk to you and everyone else, I have so many questions." I sigh wistfully.

I hear shouts coming from the pirates and I turn to look behind me to see that we are approaching a sprawling port town ahead. I look over at my traveling companions in curiosity and see that they are gathering their gear together. _Ah, so I guess that confirms my suspicions that these guys are passengers and not pirates. Seems weird that pirates would act like a passenger ship. Maybe they aren't pirates and just look like them? Oh well, just another one for the question pile. _I turn back to Natsu who is still sleeping peacefully, despite the increase of noise.

I kneel down by his head to wake him up. His eyes open at my touch and I motion for him to get up. He nods with a smile and I smile back while handing him back his scarf. As we near the port, the ship rocks a bit more violently which causes Natsu's face to pale as he sits up. I rub his back and slowly lean him against the wall again. Gathering his blanket, I roll it up and attach it back to Natsu's pack before shouldering the load myself. We wait for the ship to dock and get secured. The rocking becomes barely noticeable now and his complexion comes back some. I move to put his arm over my shoulders to help him up, but he refuses.

_ Stubborn guy. Heh. Ah well, I would do the same. _He makes it up on shaky legs and I stand up beside him. He slowly and cautiously works his way across the deck. I stay close beside him, keeping an eye on his condition. About halfway across the ship, the rolling motion starts getting to Natsu again. I quickly wrap an arm around the back of his waist to steady him. I already see that the rest of the gang is waiting for us when Natsu and I reach the side of the ship. Walking down the gangplank was horrible. I'm worried it would break under our weight, and its wobbliness had Natsu's face turn green again.

I could feel his abdominal muscles start convulsing, and I turn him to lean out over the water as soon as we were off the gangplank. Turning to face his side and shrugging his pack off of my shoulders, I wrap my other arm around the front of his waist to keep him from possibly falling in. I take my arm that is wrapped around the back of his waist and move it upwards so I can rub his shoulders and also keep his scarf from getting dirty. After a minute or two, Natsu's complexion starts getting better again. I continue to rub his back as he stands upright again and I remove my arm that was holding him up. I gently lead him away from the edge of the dock so we are less likely to have some accident.

As I kept working on Natsu to help him recover, I look back at the gang to see them staring at me, almost awestruck. Forgetting that we don't speak the same language, I ask them, "Why are ya'll looking at me like that?" They shake their heads in amazement and don't say anything. _Ok, now I am confused. They seem to be friends, but they don't care when he is seasick. And when I help him they look at me like its amazing. W. T. H. For real._ I give the group a long appraising look.

_ Either something is messed up with this friendship, or maybe its some sort of cultural rule thing I messed up. Either way, its confusing and another thing to ask about. _I'm shaken out of my thoughts by a loud whoop coming from Natsu as he moves away to do a happy dance and cheer. I chuckle at the sight to see him so energetic after his recovery. _Guess he is more of a kid than an adult. Still, its cute and I'm happy... _I'm shaken out of my thoughts for a second time in just as many moments, by a big bear hug from behind. Next thing I know, I'm lifted up and spun around real fast. I shriek out in surprise at the fact that my feet aren't on the ground.

For some reason, this really freaks me out. I flail my limbs and scream in terror while I hear Natsu shouting something behind me. Not soon enough I'm back on my feet. My heart is beating rapidly and I'm breathing heavily trying to recover from that shock. _That was soooo not fun._ My knees get weak, and I slump down to the ground on my hands and knees with Natsu still hugging me from behind. His shouting hasn't stopped just yet and when he does, he hugs me even tighter. Hearing laughter, I turn my head to see the others laughing at us. _Or most likely at me for that shriek. Heh, now I know why my female friends hated it when I hugged and spun them around fast. Looks like they got their revenge without even trying. That's karma for ya. _

Everyone but Erza starts talking towards Natsu and me in a mocking tone while giving us amused looks. Natsu retorts back at them angrily. When Gray says something that sounds insulting, Natsu lets me go and almost flew to Gray in a rage to start another fight. Feeling recovered from my earlier terror, I laugh lightly along with Lucy as Erza says something which causes them to suddenly act all buddy-buddy for who knows how many times today. Erza then looks at me, before saying something to the others in a serious tone. They look at me, then back at Erza before replying. _Oooookay. Now what is going on? Jeez, its annoying not knowing the language._

She raises her arm in a signal like they are moving out. I grab a strap of Natsu's pack as I start standing back up, when his hand stops me. He gives me a big smile and signals that he is ok. I nod and he swings it on his shoulders in a practiced motion. Erza turns to walk down the street with her luggage wagon trailing behind. The others follow along and I walk behind them. We take a lot of twists and turns in this maze of streets until Erza decides to stop at some random shop. She says something quietly and goes in alone.

I decide to take a seat on the ground and rub my feet. They started making their complaints known a few streets back. _Just socks and cobblestone streets don't mix. Owies. Just about as bad as breaking in new shoes. I hope we don't have to walk for a while. _I take off my bright red fuzzy socks to massage them better. That's when I realize something. My mind has been focused on everything going on that I forgot that I have been wearing nothing but a pair of sweats and a nightgown. I feel my face heat up in embarrassment and I look down to hide the blush.

_ Oh thank the gods above that I didn't decide to wear my thin silk gown. That would be sooo embarrassing! Well more embarrassing then being in this nightgown. Dammit, well this is great. I need to get new clothes as well I can't run around in just these clothes… Crap, I'm an idiot! Been so caught up about magic and stuff that I didn't even think about how I'm going to support myself. _I grab my socks to try to clean them so I can have something for my hands to do as I think more about my situation. _What am I going to do for food, and clothes, and stuff much less trying to get back home? I don't want to burden these guys. I don't know how I can earn whatever passes for currency in these parts. _

Realizing the extent on how bad my situation is, I give up trying to be gentle on my socks. Violently shaking out as much dirt and sand as I can, I go to put them in my pocket before I remember my iPod. _Oops. That wouldn't do. Don't want dirt and stuff to gunk up the electronics. Better check on it._ I reach into my pocket and find nothing.

"What the…?" I mutter to myself. I dig deeper into my pocket and I quickly change to the other pocket on my sweatpants again to find nothing. "Aw dammit." I whine to myself. I slump down feeling depressed that I lost one of the few links I had to my home.

"Klistina?" I look up to see Lucy standing in front of me with a questioning look on her face. I give her a sad smile and pat my empty pockets while shaking my head no. I look down again, still depressed. I feel a tap on my head and I look up again to see her holding out my iPod and headphones. Happiness floods through my system as I smile widely and nod yes while reaching out for it. She hands the iPod over before sitting next to me. She looks at it questioningly and points at it. _Ah, so she is curious. Hmm, odds are there isn't any wi-fi, so I can't do anything that needs it. That takes out a lot of functions._

I click the home button and swipe to open it, I hear a small noise of surprise beside me and I grin at her. Looking through the apps, I decide to choose something simple. Music. I tap on the app and go to lengthen the wire on my retractable headphones when I feel a warmth on my other side. Glancing over, I see Natsu looking at the iPod in curiosity and Gray walking over as well to see it. Still grinning, I detach the cord from the jack while quickly retracting the cord before slipping it in my pocket. I start scanning through the play lists before settling on one I simply have labeled as Me.

Adjusting the volume, I tap play and a soft, gentle, Celtic melody starts. I see their pleasantly surprised reactions and that makes me feel happy. An sudden weight settles on my head and before I react, I feel something furry along my neck. I grab at it to see a blue tail with a white tip. _Ah, so that's Happy on my head. He better be housetrained._ The song ends after a few minutes and I scroll through the list to look for another song to let them listen to. I settle on one of my favorite songs, Love's the Only House sung by my favorite female singer, Martina Mcbride.

As the opening chords start, I close my eyes and I feel a weight lift from my heart. I always feel like I come home when I hear her music no matter where I am. As the song gets to the second chorus I start singing softly with it, forgetting about the other people by me.

_Love's the only house big enough for all the pain in the world  
Love's the only house big enough for all the pain_

You drive three miles from all this prosperity  
Down across the river and you see a ghetto there  
And we got children walking around with guns  
And they got knives and drugs and pain to spare  
And here I am in my clean white shirt  
With a little money in my pocket and a nice warm home  
And we got teenagers walkin' around in a culture of darkness  
Livin' together alone...all I can say

Love's the only house big enough for all the pain in the world  
Love's the only house big enough for all the pain

And I can't explain it and I can't understand  
But I'll come down and get my hands dirty and together we'll make a stand  
Somewhere 'cross the parking lot some bands playin' out of tune  
City streets are gonna burn if we don't do something soon  
And señorita can't quit cryin baby's due now any day  
Don Juan left got sick of trying  
No one there to show him the way  
She came down to the grocery store and she said I-  
I wanna buy a little carton of milk but I don't have any money  
I said hey I'll cover you honey 'cause the pain's gotta go somewhere  
Yeah the pain's gotta go someplace  
So come on down to my house  
Don't you know that

Love's the only house big enough for all the pain in the world  
Love's the only house big enough for all the pain  
Don't you know that  
Love's the only house big enough for all the pain in the world  
Love's the only house big enough for all the pain 

I feel a hug suddenly envelop me from the side before the song's ending chords are done. I open my eyes in surprise and see nothing but blonde hair. A cold hand touches my face to wipe away a tear I didn't know was there. Lucy moves her head to reveal Gray's softly smiling face and his hand on my cheek. A warm arm reaches around my waist and an even warmer body presses up next to mine on the other side. I turn my head to see Natsu grinning at me like a fool. Happy moves off my head to land in my lap and hugs me the best he can. A soft tap on top of my head causes me to look up into Erza's smiling face as well. Looking at those five faces with cheerful smiles causes a happy bubbling feeling to well up in my heart.

"Everyone." I say softly before I start smiling and cry some more. _These people. We barely know each other and yet here they are making me feel like I'm just as loved by them as I am by my own family. I don't know how or why I am here or even if I can get back. But I think that if they are with me, it won't be a lonely journey. _The next song that starts playing is another one sung by Martina, this one is called Happy Girl.

It fits the moment, perfectly. I switch off the music and turn off the iPod's power to save the battery before giving everyone a hug. Happy flies out of my lap after I hug him first. It did take a bit to get untangled from Lucy and Natsu as they cling to me while I tried to get up to hug Ezra. Gray extends a helpful hand and I give him a smile of thanks as he helps me up before he envelops me in a cold embrace. Erza roughly shoves my head to hit her armored chest when its her turn.

"Ow!" I cry out in pain. When she lets go, I pout and rub my head where it hit the armor. The others laugh and give sympathetic looks. _Ah, so that's normal for her then._

"Klistina." I look back to Erza to see that she is holding out what looks like some sort of ear piece. Gesturing for me to take it, I pick it up and look at it. _Hmm, odd. Looks kinda like the rubbery bit on my ear buds. Smaller though._ I look back at her and she motions for me to put it in my ear. _Curiouser and curiouser. _I place it in my ear and I get a large jolt not unlike an electric shock. I quickly dig it out and shake my head to clear it. My heart beating rapidly from that shock. _Damn, felt that one in my heart. Just like when I touched that metal flagpole while still getting out of that electric fence._

I look at the little piece and then I give Erza a 'what the fuck?' look. She looks at the piece and corrects the position. Then motions for me to try again. I look at it feeling a bit uneasy. She nods in encouragement and much more cautiously I put it in my ear ready to snatch it out if I get another jolt. This time nothing. _Huh? Ok, what now?_

Looking back at her, I raise an eyebrow and she smiles before speaking, "Hello, Krystina. Are you able to understand what I am saying?"

"Eh!" I just exclaim stupidly.

The two guys walk up next to Erza to face me while Lucy stays by my side and all three say in unison, "Glad to meet you, Krystina."

I touch the little bit of rubber and say thoughtfully, "Huh, so it's a translator, two-way I'm assuming. That was a hell of a jolt it gave me though."

"That was due to a magical feedback that was caused when you placed it in backwards. I'm sorry for not making sure it was in proper position before you placed it in your ear. And you're right, it is two-way so we can understand you and vice versa." explains Erza.

"Ok, that makes sense. And that answers one of my questions already. Don't worry about the shock, its not the first time I got a shock like that." I reply. I look at each of them before closing my eyes with a relieved sigh. "You have no idea how good it is to finally be able to talk to y'all normally." Opening my eyes, I grin widely before continuing, "It was getting frustrating. And hello to all of y'all as well. I'm Krystina Skye VanHawkins, you can call me Krysti, and I'm pleased to meet you too." I get bombarded by various greetings all at once, making it hard to tell who said what.

"I have _soooo_ many questions to ask!" I say excitedly as the initial greetings die down. I feel my stomach give out a low growl at this point which causes me some embarrassment.

"Natsu! That's rude!" Lucy huffs out while putting her hands on her hips.

I raise my hand while feeling bashful, and say, "Guilty. And I guess that would be my first question, could we go get something to eat?"

Lucy quickly blushes and looks down in embarrassment. "Sorry Natsu. Sorry Krysti."

Natsu just grins and says, "It's ok, Luce. No hard feelings. I'm feeling hungry anyways." He pats his stomach for added emphasis. I look over at him and my inner doctor kicks in again.

"That's right! We need to get some food in you, mister. After that seasickness bout, you're gunna get dehydrated if we don't get some more liquids in you as well." I say to him while putting one hand on my hip and using the other to point at him. Natsu blinks in surprise at my words before suddenly lunging at me and capturing both of my hands in his. Startled, I just gape at his actions.

He gives me a very intense look with a few tears gathering in corner of his eyes before saying extremely seriously, "You are the kindest, sweetest, most wonderful person I have ever met."

Flattered, confused, and flustered, I feel my cheeks warm up a lot at his intense gaze and the praise. "Now that can't be true…" I start to contradict him when he interrupts me, still serious.

"Nuh-uh! It's true. No one ever took care of me like you did when I get motion sickness!" _So its all motion, not just the sea._ His grip on my hands tightens as he continues on in a more angry tone, "Not even my so-called friends over there did as much as you did the whole time I knew them!" Shocked, I look over to the others.

"Is that true?" I ask. All I got was a cough and no one would look me in the eyes. Incredulous at their actions, I ask, "Seriously? You do this _every_ time?" His hold on my hands lessens as he steps back to listen to my budding rant. "Aren't you guys suppose to be friends? But yet none of y'all would try to take care of him when he gets that way? What kind of messed up friendship is that?" I end snappishly. _A friendship like this gets me really steamed up. If this is how they treat their friends, maybe I would be better off without them. _

All four of them look down at the ground, ashamed. I start to berate them. "That's right, y'all should be ashamed of yourselves. I mean seriously, I could maybe, _maybe_, understand every now and again if it he did something to deserve it, but every time? _Really_?"

Erza clears her throat before meeting my angry gaze with a stern stare of her own. "Well, I would actually knock him unconscious with a swift punch to the stomach so he didn't have to be awake and suffer through it." Hearing this, all my protective feelings went into overdrive. I hate seeing people mistreat others. More so if they are suppose to be friends, and especially if they are people I consider one of my patients. It doesn't matter if I barely know these people. This pushed my buttons in a way like never before.

I was mad.

I was angry.

No, I am _pissed_.

I pull my hands out of Natsu's to march over to the red-head and I snap at her, "You _punch_ him? In the _stomach_? When he is suffering from motion sickness? That's a horrible way to help! Haven't each of you at one point have an upset stomach and nausea? How would you feel getting punched in the stomach while your feeling that way?! Hasn't anyone heard of motion sickness pills? Or if you wanted him to sleep, some sleeping pills? At the very least give him some _frickin' _ginger root to chew on!" I end in a shout.

Looking indignant at my accusations, she glares angrily back before heatedly replying, "We didn't know about cures for motion sickness! If we did, of course we would of gotten him some!"

I glare back, not breaking my gaze and snarl, "Did you even try to find out if there were any cures? Did you even _bother_ to check for any?" She looks shocked at my accusation and starts to reply before stopping and hanging her head down.

"No, I didn't." she replies in a quiet, defeated tone.

I turn my glare on the other three and they jump back in fear. "And how about you three? Did either one of y'all even bother asking?" Silence met my questions. "Just as I thought, and you call yourselves his friends. Tsk." I hiss out. I turn to look at Natsu and my anger melts. He stares at me like he is in complete shock. I walk back to Natsu and catch him in a hug. Softly I say, "You poor thing. Being nauseous for hours on end is a terrible feeling. I've been through that myself, more than once."

I step back from him and I rest my hands on his shoulders. He gives me an unreadable expression, not saying anything. "Shall we go find a place to go eat? I'm sure you must be starved." I warmly smile at him.

Closing his eyes, he shakes his head before answering, "Not yet. First, I would like you to apologize to my friends for being too harsh." Stunned, I just gape at him. He pauses before continuing in a calm voice, "They may be inconsiderate about certain things, they may be jerks. Especially ice-bastard over there. They may be frustrating. But they are my friends, my _family. _Through the good times and the bad, family sticks together. Maybe they needed to hear from someone new to the family to point out a mistake, but I think that you were too harsh on them. Even if you're just trying to help me."

Touched by the strength of his love for his family that I could hear in Natsu's words, I nod in acquiesce despite my anger. Letting go of his shoulders, I walk over to Lucy, Happy, Gray, and Erza before giving each of them a long disapproving look. Inside I'm still seething at his mistreatment by them, but I push that down to take control of my emotions. Before I am able to do anything else, Erza drops down on her hands and knees in a very subservient bow. The ring of her armor hitting the cobblestones echoes loudly in the silence.

I blink back my surprise as she starts to speak, "Krysti has been correct in everything that she said. I must apologize to you Natsu, for my lack of consideration for your condition. I have believed that I was right in my actions and now I have been shown the error of my ways. I have treated one of my family badly, and ignored their suffering for too long! I deserve a punishment! Please do what you see fit!"

I take a step back, unsure on how to proceed. Looking back towards Natsu, I see that he too has a stunned expression on his face. Glancing at me, he nods for me to continue. Facing forward again, I take two steps towards the others before bowing as well. I bow as deeply to them as I have for the island demons.

I then begin to speak, "I must apologize as well. Natsu is right, I have spoken too harshly about matters that do not concern me. I feel that people are important and should treat each other with kindness. Friends and family more so as they are extremely precious and must be treasured. So seeing what seems to be mistreatment of those important bonds, I have allowed my passion to control me and I have spoken harshly. Please forgive me and my words."

I close my eyes and remain bowing. I hear Lucy start talking, "No, what you said was true. We ignored the suffering of one of our own. We are the ones who should be apologizing. Nastu, we're so, so sorry! Please, can you forgive us?"

"Umm, yea… I'm sorry as well." said Gray in a lame way. Feeling a tap on the small of my back, I look up to see Natsu motioning me to stand up. He gives me a small smile of approval. As I do so, I see that Lucy is bowed just like me and Gray looking away and shifting around uncomfortably. His shirt was off again. _What is up with this guy and clothes? Like seriously. _Natsu walks over to Lucy and has her stand as well. He motions me to join them and I feel curious at what is happening. Natsu then crouches down in front of Erza who has not moved and taps her on the head.

She looks up at him and he then grabs her arms to have her stand up. Getting us all together, he faces us with a stern expression. After looking at all of us, Natsu closes his eyes and lowers his head like he is thinking. After a few seconds, his head pops back up with a large grin plastered on his face.

"Everyone is forgiven! After all, we're all family and we forgive each other for mistakes when they're made." he cries out cheerfully. At that, he plows into us for a large group hug. Out of reflex from years of never being considered part of a group, I sidestep out of the way so as to not mistakenly get caught up in the hug. _I'm glad that he is able to forgive them. Maybe now they will treat him better. _I quickly spin away from the happy scene to give them their 'moment' together. Looking everywhere else, I notice something red on the ground. I walk over to find that I've forgotten about my socks.

I pick them up and slip them into my empty pocket when a sudden silence catches my attention and I turn to see what caused it. I step back in surprise when I see five stern faces staring at me. _What the…? Why are they looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong? _

An angry Natsu stomps over toward me and grabs one of my wrists before dragging me into the middle of the group.

"You're family now." he states in a tone that brooks no argument. To say I'm stunned is an understatement. _They accept people this easily into their family? They don't know me. _

"Aye, sir! You're family now." A high pitched voice quavers. I turn to look into the crying face of Happy who is flying just above us.

"You're now a part of our family." I look at Erza as she says that.

"Welcome." _Gray_.

"Welcome to the family, Krysti." _Lucy._

Natsu grabs one of my hands and holds it up, soon to be enveloped by the hands of everyone else. He look at me and our eyes lock.

"Family." he says.

"Family!" repeats everyone loudly.

Tears start to fall as I feel overwhelmed. "Family." I agree quietly.

**Author Notes:**

If anyone has any questions on why things are the way they are, or if I happen to make a reference about something that you don't understand, then please leave a comment with your question(s). I'll make sure to answer them all before the next chapter. Same goes for Chapter 1 or any in the future that I'll post.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters or plot ideas from Fairy Tail. It is owned by Mashima Hiro.

* * *

_Previously:_

_Natsu grabs one of my hands and holds it up, soon to be surrounded by the hands of everyone else. He looks at me and our eyes lock. "Family." he says._

"_Family!" repeats everyone loudly._

_Tears start to fall as I feel overwhelmed. "Family." I agree quietly._

* * *

We break away from our huddle with smiling faces of various degrees. Light hearted chatter starts up and before we get into any real subject, my stomach growls again. I blush with a sheepish grin, and they laugh at me.

Natsu jumps up while punching the air over his head and shouts, "PARTY!" We cheer at the idea, and quick as a flash, Natsu runs off to who knows where.

"Oi! Flame-brain! Slow down!" yells out Gray in irritation as he and everyone else runs quickly to catch up, leaving me behind in the proverbial dust. I sigh and shake my head in slight disbelief as Gray's shirt falls to the ground forgotten in their rush. _So this is going to be my family while I'm here? Guess that means I need to train just to keep up if they run like that all the time. _Chuckling at the antics of my new found "family", I take off after them at a fast paced walk. I stop to pick up the discarded shirt, and of course that's when my feet decide they want attention by telling me in a form of stabbing pain.

"Crap. If I don't get some shoes soon, I might have to crawl to get around. These cobblestones _hurt._" Reaching the end of the street, I look to the left. Nothing. I look to the right. Nothing as well. "Well shit. Now I lost them. So much for family." I scoff and shake my in exasperation before chuckling slightly. "Heh. Guess I better wait for them to notice than wander around and get lost." I mutter to myself. A cooling, yet strong breeze starts up which makes the shirt in my hand and my gown to lift up and flap around. _Hmm, better take care of this before I accidentally flash someone. _A quick look around shows no one in sight, so as fast as I can I tuck the gown into my pants.

I feel instantly better and more confident than I was a few seconds ago. _Alright, time to sit and rest these feet. _Since the street intersection I am at is a T-intersection, I sit myself along the wall to face the street that the shop was in. I let out a sigh of relief as I sit, happy to get my weight off of my feet for now. I rub at them, hoping to take away some of the ache. Feeling better, I take Gray's shirt and fold up it neatly and set it on my lap to help keep it from getting even more dirty. Minutes tick by as I wait patiently for the others to come back with my stomach growling loudly. So in a fit of boredom and in attempt to pass the time, I start working on detangling my hair after I finish massaging my feet again. Reaching up to take off my hair band that is holding my low ponytail in place, I encounter things that shouldn't be there. I start pulling out twigs and leaves and other plant life. _Damn, I must've looked like some sort of wild woman. _When I feel satisfied with the effort, I start to put up my hair in its usual low ponytail.

I pause my movements as a thought occurs. _Wait. I'm here in a new land, probably going to start a new life. At the least, I should have a new hairstyle to go with it. _I consider my options on what I can do with what I have available, and decide on doing a mid pony tail using half of my hair and leave the rest of it down. I nod in approval of the idea to myself and quickly work on it. I fiddle around with my hair, making adjustments here and there and, wincing now and then as I encounter some rather large knots. I also pull out more plant parts and other things that I missed from my initial grooming. _Damn, how much random stuff can one person get stuck in hair that isn't on purpose anyways? _When I'm finished, I feel good about the change. _Not much of a change, but then again I don't have much to work with._

Looking down at the pile of stuff that was in my hair, I'm partly horrified at how much there actually is. _Its not like I care about my looks, but my hair must of looked an absolute terror! _I sigh at this. _At least it should look partway presentable now._ I start humming tunelessly to myself to try to stave off boredom while continuing to wait for one of the guys to find me. The streets start to slowly get darker as time passes and I look up to see that the sky is slowly changing from afternoon to dusk. _Well this is a rather uneventful end to an exciting and emotional day, I wonder though… will I be able to get home?_

I look back down to my hands feeling guilty about how much my family must be freaking out by now since I disappeared. I shake my head to clear it from those thoughts. _Now is not the time to get depressed now. Not until I can get some answers._ Shifting around a bit to get more comfortable, I lean my head back against the wall. I close my eyes and let myself daydream about magic while time ticks by.

* * *

I wake up to the sound of voices nearby. I don't think anything of it at first until whatever I'm laying on gets jostled. I realize 3 things instantly. First, I went to sleep in a strange town. Second, that I'm now laying down instead of sitting upright. Third, whatever I'm laying on is moving. Snapping my eyes open, I find another pair of eyes really close to my face. I cry out in surprise and try to jump back, only to succeed in falling off and landing on my face. I hear laughter and concerned voices, but I'm not able to understand what is being said. My momentary panic subsides as I recognize that its my friends talking. Groaning in embarrassment more than from pain, I roll onto my side and put my hand over my face. My head is ringing from the contact of the road below and my nose hurts. A light suddenly blooms to life nearby to reveal the faces of my new family standing in a circle over me.

_ Well that wasn't humiliating at all. Not a single bit. _The ringing fades away, but I'm still not able to understand what they are saying. It takes me a moment of thinking before it clicks. _My translator! _I struggle to get up while clutching my nose as it throbs. With the help of Erza, I'm able to get up on shaky legs. I smile in thanks as I start moving my nose to make sure it isn't broken or anything. Without finding anything wrong, I let my hand leave my face and just ignore the pain. Turning back to the others, I tap my ear trying to get the message across to them. The girls catch on first and immediately start searching for the fallen translator.

The guys don't catch on quite as quick.

I sigh at their blank looks while I'm still tapping my ear and say, "I can't understand you." and then tap my ear harder for emphasize. I see understanding flash across their faces. _Now they get it._ I roll my eyes with a smirk. The light that has been beside Natsu suddenly burns a lot brighter and I squint my eyes to get adjusted to the unexpected brightness.

Natsu is holding onto something that's on fire. _A torch._ I first think, then I pause. _Wait a minute… _I look again at his hand and almost gasp as I realize that his whole _hand_ is on fire! _Whoa… so this is magic? I thought I saw his hands on fire when he was fighting Gray on the island. I just wasn't sure if I was seeing things. Now I know for certain. _I stare at the fire and another one of my questions is answered. _This is probably why he feels so warm all the time. Makes sense for a fire user to be hot. _A triumphant shout brings me back to the situation at hand. Gray is holding the translator in the air in victory, grinning like a fool and still shirtless.

I give a small laugh at the sight. He brings it over to me and places it in my hand. I smile at him in thanks. I start to put it in when the memory of the jolt stops me. Pulling it back, I make sure to correctly position it before slipping it in. No jolt. _Thank the gods._ I wedge it in further to make sure it doesn't fall out again even if I fall.

I sigh in relief as I close my eyes. "That's better."

"What happened? How come you didn't follow us?! I haven't been able to eat yet because we were looking for you!" Natsu explodes at first then ends it with a childish whine. He is even stomping the ground in a temper fit. I am taken aback at first, but quickly recover my composure. _That's pretty childish of him. Well if he is going to act like a kid, might as well treat him like he is one. _I just raise an eyebrow in response and look him squarely in the eyes, waiting for him to calm down. He grows angrier when I don't answer him.

"Natsu…" begins Lucy in an exasperated tone when I wave my hand in her direction, effectively cutting her off. I can see Happy floating in the air looking at the two of us worriedly. I keep my eyes locked on his, and take a step forward. I cross my arms over my chest while making sure to not let any emotion cross my face as we stare. His body starts to become engulfed in flames as his anger continues to rise. After a few moments, he finally blinks and looks away while the fire on his body dies away. We are plunged into sudden darkness with the bright moonlight being the only thing that illuminates the street now.

"Natsu." I call out quietly to the pink-haired man. Catching his attention, he looks back up at me angrily and I lock my gaze with his again before continuing calmly, "Today when you kept catching me every time I ran away, that was my max speed. How fast is that compared to everyone else here?" He just gives me a sullen glare. "Well? Answer me please." I ask politely, not changing my tone or volume.

His eyebrows scrunch up in thought as he figures out the answer. After a few seconds he mutters, "Maybe as fast as Happy when he isn't using his wings."

"Good. Now with that bit of information, would I be able to keep up when everyone is running much faster than me?" I ask, still keeping the calm tone. A few seconds later, he glances away and mumbles something. "I'm sorry? I didn't hear that."

He bursts out with, "You can't!", before crossing his arms and turns away, sulking.

"Thank you, Natsu." I start out, still as calm as before. Then in a sharp, reprimanding tone I continue, "I would appreciate it if you would think about things first before putting the blame on someone." He flinches at the tone, but nods his head in agreement. I sigh and turn back to the others. Erza looks at me with approval with how I handled the situation. The others look on with a mixture of awe and fear. _Fear? Am I that scary? _I take a deep breath, shoving aside the twinge of sadness I felt.

"So who else besides that hot-head and this one is hungry?" I ask cheerfully while pointing towards Natsu then me. Everyone else lets out a chorus of agreement.

Happy flies off saying, "Let's get to the food before Lucy! She'll eat all the fish!" He snickers afterwards while flying higher up into the air.

"You crappy stray!" yells out the offended blonde. She starts chasing the laughing cat around the group while he stays just out of reach. Laughing, we all started down the street at a walk, not a run thankfully. I glance back after a few yards and notice a certain pink-haired person not following. I stop and turn around while shaking my head in slight exasperation. The others noticing, also turn to look.

"Hey! Flame-brain! Come on, we're getting food!" Gray calls out. Natsu just hunches his shoulders in response.

"Still acting like a child." says Erza in disapproval. She starts to move forward to get him when I get an idea. I let a smirk cross my face and I put my hand on her arm to stop her.

"Let me, I got an idea." I snicker to myself as I waltz on over to Natsu. I have this devilish side of me that absolutely _loves_ to tease and embarrass people. Natsu's reactions are just ideal for teasing, making him an ideal target for what I have planned. He moves his head to the side as I move around to his front to face him.

"Hey Natsu, I thought you were hungry?" I ask him playfully. His cheeks puff out in response. I pout at this. "Aw, now don't be like that. It's not my fault that you need learn to think sometimes before just rushing in and blaming people. It can hurt their feelings doing something like that. Along with wasting time and energy that can be used for more important stuff." He huffs a bit at that. I smile and using my index finger, I bop him on the nose. Surprised by that, he straightens up and meets my gaze.

"Now, would you rather of preferred Erza to try to teach that to you?" I ask him sweetly. A look of fear sweeps across his face. He shakes his head no vehemently.

"I like your way much better." he says rapidly. Tilting my head to the side, I close my eyes while giving him a large smile. _This is just too easy. Seems like messing with Natsu is going to be easier and a hell of a lot more fun than I first thought._

"Glad to hear that." I state cheerfully. Opening my eyes, I then smirk to him. "Now let's go get some food or am I going to have to throw you over my shoulder to get you moving?" His eyes widen before narrowing with an answering smirk appears on his face.

"You wouldn't dare." he states confidently.

"Oh? I wouldn't, would I?" I say playfully.

His smirk increases and he gets a haughty look. "No, you wouldn't."

I raise an eyebrow at him before I bend down quickly and ram my shoulder into his stomach. He lets out an "Oomph!" and using this time, I grab his legs around the back of his knees. I take a step forward to use the momentum to scoop him up. I lock my arms together around his legs, bringing them together and start walking towards the group. _Being a farm girl has its perks. _I smirk to myself. Everyone else is just stunned for a moment and I just smile like nothing is happening.

"Well, what are we waiting for? I'm hungry!" I ask everyone. A loud yell of protest comes from the fire-user as he recovers from my sneak attack and at that, the others just crack up laughing. Even Erza is laughing at Natsu's predicament.

"What the hell, Crispy! Let me down dammit!" He yells out in anger. I can tell that his arms are flailing around as he struggles to get off.

"Nope!" I chirp. "And if I'm crispy, what does that make you? Flame-broiled? Maybe Barbeque? Ooo, I know! You're Grilled!" I say excitedly. I pat the back of his leg, just above the knee. "Hello Grilled, I'm Crispy! Nice to meet'cha!" I reach the rest of my new found friends and we walk together, all of us laughing except Natsu. He tries to kick with his legs, but it doesn't work very well with my arms locked around his legs in a tight grip.

"Put me down or else!" he howls.

"Or else what, Grilled?" I cheerfully ask with a snicker. At the question, I feel a large whoosh of heat coming from behind me. I narrow my eyes knowing what that implies. "If you set my butt on fire, I will sit on you. And it won't be in a way you will enjoy. I _will_ enjoy it _very_ much, but you won't." I purr out that last sentence. The heat dissipates just as fast as it came. "That's what I thought." I say smugly before glancing over to see Lucy and Gray looking away like they are embarrassed by my words. I see the dark patches on their cheeks indicating their blushes. Erza is too far ahead to see her face in the moonlight.

And Happy, well, is covered in fur so who knows if he is blushing, but his wide-eyed look is enough to clue me in in how he feels about my last statement. I snicker at the shock and discomfort of the people around me. I decide I made my point by now and take a bit of pity on the guy on my shoulder. I take a few more steps before swinging him quickly back over my shoulder so he lands in front of me. He lets out a squawk of surprise at the sudden movement. In the bright moonlight, I can see dark patches covering his cheeks. _Aww, is he blushing? Oh dear, I believe I embarrassed the hot-head. _I narrow my eyes and grin widely in devilish delight.

"Hey Natsu, think you can walk now, or will I have to carry you all the way?" I ask still grinning and enjoying his discomfit.

"I can walk!" he grumbles in frustration. Reaching up, I ruffle his hair and lean in close to his ear so I can whisper.

"There we go then, Lesson #2: be careful on what you dare me to do. I might just take it a step further." He turns away really quickly and starts walking away, but not before I see his blush deepening. _Oh, I am going to enjoy teasing the hell outta him._

# ## # #

The six friends are walking along, enjoying each others company. Light, easy banter fills the air, with the occasional insult and resulting scuffle. Before long, they make it to a corner café lit up brightly with cheerful lights.

Seeing this, two members of the group shout in unison, "FOOD!" Before picking up their pace to enter the eatery before the others. This causes the rest of the friends to laugh at their antics. Entering the café, they see that the brunette and pinkette already seated at a large round table. Krysti waves them over while she and Natsu are almost bouncing in their seats in excitement. As everyone is seating themselves, a young-looking silver-haired waiter walks over with the menus.

Eyes shining in delight, the hungry duo eagerly scan over the menu options.

"YES! They serve Fire Chicken!" exclaims Natsu in joy. While at the same time Krysti's earlier enthusiasm deflates and she slumps in her seat.

"Hmm? What's the matter Krysti?" asks Gray when he notices her change in demeanor.

She looks down and blushes. Looking sheepish, she explains, "I, uh, well…" She takes a deep breath and continues, "I can't read the menu."

"Huh?" says Lucy with a questioning look on her face. "What do you mean you can't read it?"

"Maybe it's because Krysti is just dumb." says Happy matter-of-factually as he is reading over his own menu.

Krysti sinks in her seat more and stares at the table. "Yea, you're probably right." she says softly.

The blue cat looks shocked at not getting the expected angry reaction as he would with the blonde and drops his menu in surprise.

"Krysti. It's not your fault that you can't read the menus. Since you have a different spoken language than us, its not hard to figure out that you have a different written language as well." says Erza reassuringly before continuing in a more normal tone, "Natsu, switch with Gray and help her with the menu."

"Eh? Why do I have to? Gray is right there, he or Lucy can help." Protests the named individual.

Erza glares at him before saying coldly, "I believe I told you that until otherwise decided, _you_ are charged with the responsibility of taking care of her. That includes helping her read the menu."

Shivering in his seat Natsu replies weakly, "Y-yes ma'am."

At hearing this, the brunette lifts her head up quickly. "Wait a minute, he's in _charge _of me?" she looks over at the fire user before looking back at Erza and hooks a thumb in his direction. "Are you sure it isn't the other way around?" she questions. By this time, the two boys are almost done switching seats and Natsu looks offended at the question.

"Hey! What is that suppose to mean?" he protests.

"I think you know exactly what I mean, Pinky." she retorts.

"Who are you calling Pinky? And I don't need looking after!" he continues. The other four members share amused looks as the two loudmouths start to bicker.

Happy gives his best friend and new friend an intense look before saying, "They llllllike each other." which goes unnoticed by the two. A couple more moments of the squabble goes by before Erza smacks her hand on the table, catching everyone's attention.

"Let's figure out what we are going to order so we can get right to business. I'm sure we all have a lot of questions to ask." she says evenly.

Everyone nods in agreement before going back to the menus. Natsu, already knowing what he wants, turns his attention to the brunette beside him and starts explaining the menu to her. About 5 minutes later, the waiter returns for their orders. He writes everything down, looking a little overwhelmed when he gets to the orders of the hungry duo. He leaves with a promise of returning soon with the drinks.

While everyone is calm, Erza again takes charge of the situation. "Ok Krysti, I know that we have a lot of questions for you, and you have a lot for us. So why don't we take turns asking what we want to know?"

"That sounds good to me, who wants to go first?" Krysti asks.

"I do!" Says Happy as he suddenly starts flying around on top of the table in an excited manner. "What kind of fish do you have where you are from?" Krysti laughs softly in response while everyone else drops their heads at his question.

"Well we have many, many kinds of fish. I can't say how much they are the same or different from yours since I don't know what the fish are like over here. But I can say that the oceans are full of more fish than you can ever imagine." she tells him. He gets a happy look on his face and starts drooling as he daydreams about the kinds of fish in her world.

"So I guess that counts as the first question for you guys." she says with a chuckle. Looking down at the cat's blissful expression, she smiles widely. "For mine, hmmm. Well my first question then is, exactly who are you guys?"

With a grin, Natsu lifts a fist up towards with his and proudly states, "We're Fairy Tail!"

Krysti tilts her head a bit while looking at him. "Eh? Fairy Tail?" she asks, confused by the answer.

"Fairy Tail is a wizards guild. All of us are members." Says Lucy while pointing to her guild mark. "How about you Krysti? Who are you?"

"Well I'm no one near as awesome as a member of a wizard's guild." she starts off at first. "As for who I am, I'm really nothing more than an average farm girl working on getting a college education and trying to help her family." she ends looking a bit sheepish.

"What's a college?" asks Gray. Krysti looks towards him with a startled look.

"Does this place have any schools?" she asks back.

"There are schools for people to learn magic." Lucy answers.

Krysti shakes her head, "No, I mean like basic knowledge school. A place to learn how to read, write, learn history, math, etc, etc. That kind of school."

"Not really. Some towns provide it, but those are more for the wealthy children. And the majority of those just use tutors instead. Most of that kind of learning is taught by the children's families." Says Erza.

Krysti looks a little downhearted by hearing that before she continues. "Well in my world, a college is an advanced type of school. Whereas normal school, you grow up learning the basic knowledge needed to live and work in our world. In college, you would gain the specific knowledge and skills toward a given career that you want in life. Like an artist would learn more about all types of art to become a better artist. Or if someone wants to be doctor, then they would learn a lot of advanced medical stuff. And so on. It costs a lot of money to go to college, but as long as you study, you can't beat the knowledge you gain and can really succeed in life." her voice grows more passionate the longer she talked about the subject.

Looking excited, Lucy then asks, "Can you learn everything in college?"

Krysti chuckles, "Just about anything you can think of, there is a college or class somewhere being taught about it. About the only thing you can't learn is on the job experience."

By this time the drinks arrive and the conversation lulls as they are being handed out. A quick thanks to the waiter and everyone goes back to the subject at hand, or rather Lucy does.

"Are there any classes about how to be a writer?" she asks eagerly before taking a sip of her drink.

"Or how about being a better mage?" asks Natsu before the brunette can answer which earns him a glare from the blonde. Krysti raises her hands and motions them to calm down.

"Oh yes, there are more courses on how to be a writer than you can shake a stick at, Lucy. And sorry Natsu, there aren't any courses on being a mage." she explains.

He pouts at this, "How come? Aren't wizards not good enough for college?"

She gently shakes her head and looks him full in the eyes. "Its not that wizards aren't good enough, Natsu. It's the fact that there is no magic in my world." Silence descends on the group as they process what was said.

"What!? What do you mean no magic? Of course there is magic!" Gray exclaims as he quickly recovers from the shock. Krysti shakes her head again.

"Exactly what I said, Gray. Where I am from, there is no magic. People aren't able to light themselves on fire like Natsu is able to do. And we don't have magic translators so people can understand each other perfectly. We also don't anything like Happy over there as well. Now for argument's sake, you could say there is magic in imagination, or true love, or the innocence of a child, and things like that. But the magic you're talking of, doesn't exist anywhere except in stories." she explains. The group looks slightly depressed at this.

"No magic at all. That's really sad." says Lucy softly.

"Now it's not all that bad." says Krysti in a more cheerful mood. "I'm not sure if this place has done it, but my world has done some incredible things with science."

"What's science?" asks Erza.

Taken aback, Krysti eyes the group in wonder. "You guys don't know what science is?" she asks incredulously and they all shake their heads no in answer. "Huh. Well don't that beat all." she mutters before perking up. "Ok, well I guess the simplest way to explain it is that science is the study of everything."

"Everything? Even fish?" asks Happy.

Looking down at the cat and laughing, she replies, "Including fish." She looks back up and continues. "Science is the general term to include all of the studies, but it branches out into many different things. With science we study how and why things are made, and how they work the way they do. And I mean everything down from the tiniest grain of sand, all the way up to the stars and beyond. We use science to study the world, and once we understand how something works, we can figure out ways to use it for ourselves. With science we have made amazing achievements." As she was explaining, her whole face lights up in delight about one of her life's passions.

"What kind of achievements?" Asks Gray.

At this Krysti gets a smug look on her face. "Well I'm not trying to brag since I'm not sure how it compares to your world's accomplishments, but one of the big ones is that we were able to send men to the moon."

Confused, Natsu asks, "What do you mean 'send men to the moon'?"

She looks over to him before replying, still looking smug, "What I mean is that we had people go up into space and walk on the moon itself."

At this, chaos broke out with the rest of the group, stating how it wasn't possible for anyone to actually be on the moon and that it had to of been magic after all.

Krysti waggles her index finger back and forth in the air after they calm down a bit and clicks her tongue. "Tsk tsk tsk. No, I told you. Its science. Not magic."

"Without magic, it can't be possible." states Lucy.

Krysti gets a gleam to her eye before answering, "Ah, but it is possible my dear Lucy. Very possible indeed. You just need the right amount of fuel, an airtight aerodynamic ship, enough necessities, and some advance math, and voila! You too can land on the moon." she says with an infomercial flourish. She then calms down and says dismissively, "Of course, there are a lot more complicated things going on, but I don't want to bore you with the details."

"That is so awesome! I don't understand it, but have you been to the moon as well? What is it like up there?" asks a very excited Natsu.

Krysti shakes her head again, this time with a sad smile. "No, I haven't been. Although I would love a chance to go. You need special college courses and special physical training and you need to learn a _lot_ of complicated stuff just to even have a chance. And not many people who go through the training are picked to go. Its very tough, demanding, stressful, and there are not a lot of people who can handle the job."

At this Natsu looks very crestfallen at the news. Seeing this, she tries to cheer him up. "Hey, how about this? If somehow I'm able to get back to my world, and you're with me, I'll do what I can to help you get to the moon."

Looking excited again he shouts, "It's a deal! Now, I'm all fired up!" as flames coat his body.

Seeing this and feeling the heat, Krysti jumps back in surprise with a rather loud squeak. The others laugh amongst themselves and quietly watch her reactions. Recovering quickly, she studies Natsu as he is still on fire. She reaches out slowly to feel the heat of the flames with her hand. A few inches from his arm, her hand hovers in place as she appears thoughtful. To the horror of the group, she quickly catches his arm as it still has the flames over it. Horror turns into disbelief as she doesn't seem harmed by his flames. Caught off guard by the hand on his arm, Natsu's flames quickly die down as he looks at Krysti's hand in puzzlement.

"What are you doing Crispy?" he asks in curiosity.

She replies absentmindedly, "I was studying your flames. I wanted to know if they burn." He laughs and sets both fists on fire as he lifts them to his eye level.

"Of course they burn! They're dragon flames!" he says with confidence. Krysti lets go of his arm and watches his hands.

"Then why is my hand not burned?" she asks quietly.

"Huh?" he says while looking back at her.

Instead of answering, she grabs one of his flaming hand with her own. His eyes widen in shock to see that her hands were in fact not being burned at all. They both stare at their hands wonderingly.

"Why doesn't my fire hurt you?" he asks while still feeling stunned.

"I don't know, they're your flames. Not mine. I mean your hand does feel really hot, like when you touch something metal during a summer day. But it isn't anything unbearable." she says.

"Let me try!" says a quickly recovered Happy. He walks over full of confidence and slaps a paw on Natsu's fist. One second later he is running around the table with a paw on fire while crying his eyes out before coming to a stop in front of Lucy. He dunks his paw into her drink with a large sigh of relief.

"My drink…" whimpers a now sad Lucy.

"Erza, are you sure that she is non-magical? That looks pretty mage-like to me." says Gray. The red-headed woman frowns with her eyes closed in thought. Krysti slowly releases her grip on Natsu and his flames die out again. They look at their hands, then each other before turning to watch Erza.

"I'm still not sensing any magic power coming from her, but that does not mean she doesn't have any. Perhaps she has some inherent fire abilities which causes her flame resistance." Erza says in a normal tone after a couple of moments thinking.

Frowning slightly in thought, Krysti answers hesitantly, "Well, back home I have always loved the heat. I love taking really hot baths, working outside during hot days. And especially when I was younger, I was a bit of a pyromaniac." She ducks her head out of embarrassment and blushes. "Heh, I'm surprised that I didn't get burnt more or destroy more things at my house with my antics. But even then, I would get burnt if I actually got too close to a real fire." she continued.

"I wonder…" started off a thoughtful Lucy. "Is it just Natsu's flames that wouldn't hurt you, or if its all fire?"

"That's an interesting question to find the answer to. We can try it if Krysti is willing when Natsu's fire chicken comes out."

"Why do we have to wait until his food comes out?" asks Krysti in confusion.

"Because it comes out actually on fire." explains Gray. Krysti blinks at that.

"Oh, so he likes it flambéed then. I guess that makes sense." she says.

"Flam-baed?" asks Happy still nursing his burnt paw.

Krysti nods her head before answering, "That's right. Flambé is a cooking term back on my world. It means you put some alcohol, usually wine, on the food and set it on fire so the alcohol gets burned off and leaving the wine flavor in the food."

The others nod their heads in understanding. Natsu then lifts his head and starts sniffing.

"I smell our food! It will be out soon! Finally! I'm so hungry!" he cheers in happiness.

"You can smell the food, all the way from here?" asks Krysti in disbelief.

Lucy, who is shaking her head in exasperation at Natsu, says, "Yea, that guy there has a really keen sense of smell. Its uncanny." And just as the fire-user said, the food started to arrived with their waiter and two other helpers. As soon as the plate was set before him, Natsu starts to dive in when Erza told him to wait sternly. He pouts at her, but stops making a move to eat despite his belly's protests.

"Krysti, do you mind putting your hand in the flame to see if it also won't burn you?" asks Erza politely.

She nods her head, "If Natsu doesn't mind me putting my hand in it that is." she says while looking over at him to gauge his reaction. He waves it off, still pouting at not being allowed to eat with his food right there in front of him. So Krysti takes the same hand and reaches out cautiously toward the flames. A few inches away she lets her hand hover for a few seconds before she moves it into the flame.

Looking surprised she says in awe, "It doesn't hurt! The fire isn't burning me at all." She takes out her hand and stares at it in wonder. "It isn't as hot as Natsu's fire either. Feels almost like a summer breeze."

"Well this is an interesting state of events. We should inform the Master of this when we return." quietly says Erza.

Looking over at the red-head, Krysti asks, "Who is the Master?"

Lucy says, "He is the Master of our guild. A strong and wise wizard. Although somewhat perverted." she says the last part quietly to herself.

"Maybe he will know how I can get home." Krysti says excitedly.

"It's a possibility." Gray agrees cautiously.

Erza grabs a fork and starts to eat her food which everyone takes as a signal to start. They all dig in eagerly and for a few seconds everything is quiet before a loud gasp catches their attention.

"You're _eating_ the fire!?" a shocked Krysti gasps out.

Natsu looks over to her like it's no big deal and answers between bites. "Yea, I can eat fire. Its one of the things I can do as a dragon slayer."

"Dragon slayer? _Dragon_ slayer?! As in those gigantic winged-reptiles with fire breath and are immensely strong and everything like that?" asks the excitable brunette. He nods his head in answer as he is still chewing his food. Without warning an excited Krysti squeals out loudly, which sends Natsu's hands to cover his sensitive ears. Food forgotten, she starts firing questions rapidly at the poor guy next to her.

"What kind of dragons are there? What do they look like? Are there any nice ones? Do they all live in caves with treasure hoards? Can they talk? Are they all able to breath fire? Can they fly? How many have you seen? Are there lots of dragons? What do they eat? Can they use…" she stops as a hand covers her mouth. Wide-eyed, she meets the amused look of Natsu.

He takes his hand off of her mouth and says, "Breathe." She nods and takes in a breath looking sheepish.

She scratches her reddening cheek in embarrassment before saying much slower, "Sorry. I just love dragons and learning about them. I get really fired up about the subject and I get a bit ahead of myself in the excitement in learning about them."

Natsu just chuckles and pats her on the head. "Its ok. Dragons get me fired up too." he says with a closed eyed grin.

"Great, now we got two dragon obsessed freaks." mutters Gray.

"What was that ice-prick?! Shouts out a now irritated Natsu as he whips his head around to glare at his rival.

"You heard me flame-brain." Gray retorts before popping a piece of food in his mouth.

"You just shut your trap snow cone!" is the reply from the easily irritated fire mage.

"Boys!" says Erza forcefully. Fearful of her wrath, they immediately shut up and start eating their food. Also going back to her food, Krysti becomes lost in thought as she eats. The table is silent as everyone finishes up their meals although Lucy does flag down the waiter to get a new drink. Erza, being the first one done, signals for the bill and patiently waits for the others to finish. Soon enough, the only ones still eating are Krysti and Natsu who both seem to have large appetites. The bill shows up soon after and Erza pays for it with a quiet compliment on the service and apology for the noise.

"So Krysti…" she opens, catching the brunette's attention. "We learned a lot of your world and yourself, do you have any more questions for us?" Still chewing, Krysti nods and looks thoughtful as she finishes up her current mouthful.

"Yea, I was wondering, what all kinds of magic is there? I know that fire is one of them." she says pointing towards Natsu.

Smiling softly, Erza answers, "There is in essence, many types of magic in the world. The true amount remains unknown. It is almost basically if you can imagine it, there can be magic of it." Krysti's eyes shine in delight.

"If I can imagine it…" she says softly to herself. Coming out of her reverie, she then asks, "Can anyone learn magic?"

Erza nods her head, "If you have the power to believe in your heart that you can learn magic, then you can learn." The grin on the brunette's face was a sight to behold.

"Oh, I would love to learn how to do magic! Can I start now? What do I need to do first?" she asks as her eyes twinkle in excitement.

Letting out a small chuckle, Erza holds up one hand to signal the brunette to calm down. "If you want to learn magic, it would be best if we get back to the guild. And before that, we should get some sleep." Erza says warmly.

Pouting, Krysti crosses her arms over her chest with a huff causing the others to laugh at her reaction.

* * *

The group arrives at an inn later that night ready to call it quits for the night. Well, all except for the two dragon crazed friends. For almost the whole trip through town, Krysti and Natsu chattered non-stop about the subject of dragons. They hung toward the back of the group, not really paying attention to anything else around them. Lucy carried a sleeping Happy in her arms as the blue cat was tuckered out due to his fish feast. After a quiet conversation with the clerk, Erza heads back to inform the group of their room situation which silences the two chatterboxes.

"Ok, unfortunately due to an upcoming event here in town, there is only one room left with two beds, so we all are sharing. The manager is kind enough to bring up an extra bed so we aren't completely cramped. But we still need to figure out sleeping arrangements for us so…." Erza stops her monologue at the sight of Krysti raising her hand to call attention to herself.

"I call the floor!" she says cheerfully. Erza and Lucy both look at her aghast at the notion. The boys just look stunned.

"W-wait a minute Krysti! There is no need for you to…" stammers out Lucy before getting cut off in mid-sentence.

"Yes there is. Unless they are king or queen sized, which I doubt, then they won't be big enough for all of us. This way, everyone can have a bed. Its easier because I know that it would be a disaster if we try to force the guys to share a bed." Krysti then looks down at her feet and holds her hands behind her back.

"Anyways, some of this is my fault because you guys had to take time to deal with me." she said bashfully. She looks up and then stands up straight while putting her hands on her hips. "So I insist that I be the one to take the floor while you guys sleep in the beds. If for nothing else, as a small part to pay you all back for the kindness and friendship you have shown me." she ends in a tone that brooks no argument.

"But…" Lucy starts to protest.

"No buts. If I have to, I will just leave the inn and sleep outside." Krysti states firmly, not changing her tone.

Erza smiles at the brunette, before saying, "If you insist, then we will have to respect your wishes."

The blonde girl pouts, unhappy with the situation. The two boys can't believe their luck that they don't have to fight for or share a bed. Erza silently starts walking down a hallway, signaling to the rest of the group that it is time to get to their room. When they open the door a large whoosh of cold air hits them which causes Lucy and Krysti to shiver. They find the room to be a bit, small. Not very furnished, it boasts of a stone floor and stone walls, a single nightstand, a small bathroom, and a small window. A ball of glowing crystal lights the room with a yellow light. And two twin sized beds. Not to mention that the room is much colder than it should be for being such a warm day. Lucy sets Happy down on the end of one of the beds before going through her luggage. Settling in, the two younger girls get their stuff together to use the bathroom.

"Krysti, aren't you going to join us?" Erza asks curiously as she realizes that the brunette hasn't made a move in their direction.

Shifting around nervously Krysti replies, "Um, that's ok. It will probably be cramped if I go in as well. I'll let you two and the guys go ahead of me. That and I wanna keep talking to Natsu." Gray snorts in amusement at that last sentence and waves away the curious looks as everyone looks in his direction.

He walks over to one of the beds and sits on it while leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. Natsu and Krysti sit together on the other bed and rekindle their earlier conversation, just in quieter voices. While the girls were in the bathroom, a knock on the door is heard. Natsu quickly leaps off the bed to open the door. Outside is the innkeeper with some helpers bringing in the 3rd bed. They finish setting it up just as the girls exit the bathroom all cleaned up and ready for bed. Erza thanks the innkeeper and helpers before they exit and the red-head closes the door behind them. It's a ¾ bed, so it won't be uncomfortable for them to share.

"Gray." is all Erza says, and knowing what she means, he quickly gets up to take his turn in the bathroom. The brunette and pinkette pick up their conversation from before the 3rd bed arrived. The girls get their stuff settled by the bigger bed and start up their own chat. An occasional raised voice from the two dragon enthusiasts catches the girls' attention from their own talk of different fashions and favorite sweets. After a while, Gray pops out of the bathroom with his hair still wet and clad only in a pair of boxers. The brunette gapes at him but doesn't say anything when no one else seems to notice. Natsu then gets up to take his turn, knowing if he doesn't then a certain red-head will toss him into the shower.

Krysti lets her eyes wonder around, thinking about what to do to pass the time when they land on the nearly naked guy on the other bed. So she decides to start up a conversation with him.

"Hey Gray." she starts, trying to get his attention as he seems lost in thought.

"Huh?" he says as he gets taken out of his thoughts. He looks over to see the large woman looking at him intently.

"I never got around to asking, but what kind of magic do you have?" she asks nicely. He brings his hands together with a smack and a large snowflake is in his hand. She looks at it in awe and with a smirk he tosses it at her without warning. "Ack!" she exclaims before catching the object.

"Oh! Its ice! So you're an ice wizard." she states.

"Yep. That's my magic. And I'm pretty good at it too if I say so myself." he says, feeling proud in his abilities.

"I'll say, the detail on this snowflake is beautiful!" she says in awe, which causes a slight blush to start on his cheeks.

"Um, thanks." he says sheepishly.

"Can I see the snowflake?" asks Lucy from across the room. Krysti looks at Gray and he nods. Getting off the bed, Krysti walks over to the other two females, not wanting to throw and possibly break the fragile looking flake.

"Wow! This is beautiful! You did such a good job with this Gray." Lucy sang her praise which caused the blush on Gray's face to deepen.

"Yes, excellent work." states Erza as she also looks at the ice. Gray turns his head away from the group of girls.

Looking towards the bathroom Krysti says softly, "I wonder if you can do things like this with fire?"

Scoffing Lucy just says, "The only thing that idiot has been able to make with his fire is a big mess."

"Huh? What do you mean a big mess?" she questions the blonde.

Lucy continues, "Yea, that hothead is always causing trouble. Getting into fights with everyone and doesn't know how to hold back. He destroys things around him when he fights. He can take out buildings with one punch if he is riled up enough."

"Take out an entire building? With _one _punch?" Krysti says incredulously.

"Flame-brain has caused more trouble with all the damage he causes." Gray adds from across the room.

Lucy nods in agreement. "Yea, in fact when Natsu and I met in this very town. We got caught up in some shady business and he ended up destroying part of the town."

She looks at Lucy askance. "So his magic is that powerful that he can destroy a part of a town and it isn't even on purpose?" Krysti asks. When she gets the nods affirming what she said is true, she gets an odd look in her eyes. "Wow, its must be wonderful to have that kind of power under your control…" she says almost dreamily. The bathroom door slams open, startling the group and waking up Happy.

He says sleepily, "Huh? What's going on? I was having a nice dream about fish…" he trails off, going back to sleep. Natsu is walking out, with fire coating his body to dry off his clothes and hair. Smiling like he doesn't have a care in the world, he flops onto the bed he is sharing with Happy. At this, Krysti gets up to take her turn at a shower. Closing the poor abused door gently, she goes through the motions of seeing what is left from all the showers. Opening each door, she finds there are no dry towels left at all and very little in the way of soap. Even the shampoo is all used. Sighing in slight disappointment, she takes out her iPod and sets it on a dry part of the sink before taking off her clothes and earrings.

Seeing what looks to be normal plumbing that she would find at home, she steps in the shower and turns on the water. Icy cold water hits her body, almost causing her to shriek. Instead she just lets out a gasp and shivers. She turns the knobs everyway just to find out all the hot water is gone. So, in silence she cleans herself the best she can in the icy cold water. After a few minutes, that seemed like hours to her, she finishes and stops the shower. Using the wet towels, she dries herself off as much as she can before slipping her clothes back on and reclaiming her possessions. Walking out of the bathroom, the light is out and everyone is in their bed, already going to sleep.

Still shivering, she walks over to the wall with the small window and sets herself down to lay down. The cold stone floors of the colder than normal room do nothing to help her warm up, but she doesn't say anything to anyone in an attempt to not be a burden anymore. Settling down into the most comfortable position for her to sleep, she closes her eyes. Minutes tick by and the cold doesn't ease up. She bites her hand to keep her teeth from chattering. Time drags on, and the light of the moon goes slowly across the floor. Finally giving up, she sits upright against the wall, still shivering. Trying to warm up on the really cold stone despite the warm weather outside. She gently blows on her hands to try to warm them without waking her sleeping friends.

Her eyes close shut in concentration as she curls up the best she can to preserve what warmth she still had. A bit later, ahand that feels almost hot lands on her shoulder, causing her head to shoot up and eyes opening wide. A dim figure is seen through the moonlight and it crouches down in front of her. A soft familiar "Shush." is heard which identifies the person as Natsu. He grabs both of her cold hands in his warm ones, and pulls at her to stand up. Silently wondering what is going on, she lets him pull her up. Letting go of one hand he leads her across the room towards the beds.

Still silent, he pushes her down to sit then lay back on the bed. She was so cold, that she complied without complaint. The warm bed already starting to work the cold out of her body. A weight on the other side of the bed lets her know that he is now laying beside her. She turns on her side to face away from him to give him as much room as she can before his arm stops her. It drags her to the middle where her back meets with his chest. Using his inner fire, he raises his body temperature to warm her up faster. She lets out a small "mmm" of pleasure at the flare of heat after being so cold.

She whispers a quiet, "So warm." before falling asleep thanks to the dragon slayer behind her. He pulls the sheet over them before settling in to finally get to sleep when he couldn't stand hearing the brunette shiver on the floor anymore. Unbeknownst to either the brunette or dragon slayer, the other three people smile at what happened before they too start to go to sleep.

* * *

Slowly, I wake up feeling incredibly comfortable and deliciously warm. I let out a small hum in pleasure before I snuggle back into my pillow, prepared to go back to sleep. Something tightens around my stomach which causes me to wake up instantly. Without opening my eyes, I try to take stock of my situation. _Ok Krysti, what was the last thing you remember? Ummm, cold. That's right. I was cold out of my freaking mind on the floor. Something warm then got me. Hmm. Something warm was holding my hands, and then umm, I got pushed on something soft. Must be what I am on now. Then something really, really warm got next to me._

As if to confirm my thoughts, I hear a familiar low groan right by my ear and everything clicks into place. _Ah, ok. So I guess Natsu took pity on me and brought me to the bed and used his fire to warm me up. Well if dragon-boy is willing to share, who am I to say no. _I smile to myself and take a deep breath to relax back into sleep. Well, that is I was until I hear a small cough followed by a giggle nearby. I crack my eye open to the blurry image of three forms standing nearby. I close my eye again to ignore them and get back to my precious sleep. I hear a slightly louder cough and I frown in annoyance. I open my eye again and I can make out Gray, Erza, Lucy, and Happy watching me from the other twin bed.

"Hello sleepyhead." says a way too perky Lucy. I grumble at them, lift my hand to flip them off and then pull the sheet over my head. A delighted cackle sounds off in the room. _Why won't they let me sleep. Its so warm and comfy. _Sinking back into sleep, I get startled awake by the sheet getting yanked off of me. I hear Natsu start grumbling in my ear as he tugs me closer to him. Before I can say or do anything else, I feel my legs getting jerked and I get pulled out of his hold. I let out a small scream as I fly and land roughly on the floor. I hear a yell and thud from the other side of the bed. I look up into the faces of Lucy and Erza as they each held one of my legs.

"What the hell!" Natsu and I both yell out to our friends.

Letting go of my legs, Lucy smirks at me as Erza answers, "Well, we need to be leaving now if we are going to make it to the train in time. You two refused to wake up normally. So…" she trails off. I glare and I hear Natsu curse.

Gray adds, "Plus, it was more fun for us this way." I grumble at them while trying to pick myself off of the floor. _Lowdown bastards. They didn't have to be so rough. I am soooo going to pay them back for this. _As I stand up, I rub my aching backside from where I landed. I give each one of them an evil glare which they don't seem concerned about. _Oh I am so going to get revenge._ Now awake and standing, I stretch my body while it makes all sorts of cracks and pops. First my neck, then my upper back, my arms and fingers, then I work on down to my lower back, knees and calves. Limbered up, I feel better and energized.

Looking over, I see Natsu is also working out the kinks while glaring at Gray with a promise of death. _Hmm, I should team up with Natsu for our revenge. Oh, and how sweet it will be. _I silently promise myself.


End file.
